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Collection  de 
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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquas 


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original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturas  of  this 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua. 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagas  in  tha 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
tha  usijal  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


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Cartas  giographiquas  en  couleur 

Coloured  Ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
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Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relii  avec  d'autres  documents 

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along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  iiura  serr6e  paut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

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appear  within  tha  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutias 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  la  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cala  itatt  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
paa  6ti  filmAes. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  la  meillaur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  iti  possible  de  se  procurer.  Las  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


r~~~|   Coloured  pages/ 


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Pages  restaurias  et/ou  pelliculdes 


I    Y  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
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□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

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Quality  inigale  de  ('impression 

□    Includes  supplementary  material/ 
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D 
D 


Only  edition  available/ 
SeuEe  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partieliemant 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  una  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  iti  filmies  d  nouveau  de  fa^on  i 
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Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmantaires; 


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Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 


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The  copy  ffilmad  hare  hat  been  reproduced  thanka 
to  the  generoaity  of: 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Iceeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covera  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  iilustrated  Impres- 
sion, or  the  bacic  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  iilustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  iilustrated  Impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —»>( meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  platr^s,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  r?any  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnArosit*  de: 

La  bibliothdque  des  Archives 
publiques  du  Canada 

Las  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avac  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet*  de  l'exemplaire  f  ilm«,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fiimage. 

Les  exempiaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprlmte  sont  fiim6s  en  commengant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exempiaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iliustration  et  en  terminant  par 
ia  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derni6re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  seion  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  y  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmfo  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  fttre 
reproduit  en  un  seui  clich6, 11  est  film*  d  partir 
de  I'angle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
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V 


^'V 


i\\ 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


u 


THE 


HISTORY 


OF  THE  LATE 


PROVINCE  OP  NEW-YORK, 


*1 


FROM 


ITS  DISCOVERY, 


TO  TUB 


APPOINTMENT  OF  GOVERNOR  GOLDEN, 


IN 


1762. 


BY  THE  HON.  WILLIAM  SMITH, 

Formerly  of  New-York,  and  late  Chief  Justice  of  Lower  Canmlii. 


VOL.  I. 


— 9(0&— 


\K1^  -A  ORK : 

PUBLiSaEO  UNDER  TUB  DIHECTION  OF  XIIE  NEW-lMKK 

HJSTORirAI    fiOrTHTV.  ^ 

Oi  III  fail.  Prill', 
IS'2!). 


a- . 


'._S>''<«*!h'*      ■■„•<■''.*_■ 


■  r 


SOUTHERN  DISTRICT  OF  NEW- YORK,  u. 
Bg  it  remembered,  That  on  the  7tii  day  of  November,  A.  D.  183U,  in  the  S4th  year  of  the 
(nilependence  of  the  United  Statea  of  America,  JOHN  DELAFIELD,  of  the  said  District, 
hath  depoaited  In  this  office  the  title  of  a  book,  C\o  right  whereof  he  clainia  aa  proprietor 
in  the  wordd  following,  to  wit : 

"  The  History  efthe  Province  of  Mhe-York,  from  ii»  diteoviry  to  the  appointment  of  Go- 
vernor Colden,  in  1763.  By  the  honourable  William  Smi'tA,  formerly  of  AVw  York,  and  late 
Chief  Jitttiee  of  Lover  Canada.  Fubliiked  under  the  direction  of  the  Kev-  York  tli$t»rieat 
Society. 

In  conformity  to  the  Act  of  Conorew  of  the  United  Statet,  entitled  "  An  act  for  the  en- 
couragement of  Learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  author* 
and  proprieton  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  an  Act 
entitled  "  An  Act,  supplementary  to  an  Act,  entitled  an  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learn- 
ing, by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of 
auch  copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned,  and  extending  thebenelits  thereof  to  the  art* 
of  designing,  engraving,  and  «tcUing  historical  and  other  prints." 

FRED.  J.  BETTS, 
Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of  AVio-  York. 


.^• 


g^-  .^fi^ii^l^^ 


ii»*->P#«iM.<-~' 


-*ia^ 


*M.»JrjitgAi..  ....ji^satj 


"♦»«;■» 


)  I 


NOTICE. 


The  present  voliunes,  now  for  the  first  time  associated, 
contain  the  History  of  the  State  of  New-York  fiom  its  first 
discovery  to  the  year  1762,  by  the  late  William  Smith,  for- 
merly Chief  Justice  of  Canada,  with  the  author's  last  altera- 
tions and  additions  from  the  original  manuscripts.  On  a 
production,  a  part  of  which  has  been  so  long  before  the  public, 
and  so  highly  appreciated,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  make 
any  commentary.  It  is  sufficient  to  observe,  that  had  the 
Historical  Society  rendered  no  other  service  to  the  commu- 
nity than  the  publication  of  these  volumes,  this  alone  would 
have  justified  the  bounty  of  the  Legislature.  But  they  trust 
that  their  other  labours  are  appreciated,  and  hope  the  public 
will  see,  in  these  efforts,  a  design  to  fulfil  the  obligations  to 
which  the  Society  is  pledged,  and  to  enhance  the  character 
of  the  great  State  of  which  they  are  members. 

The  Continuation  of  the  History  will  be  found  not  inferior 
in  interest  or  execution  to  the  part  so  well  known.  It  treats 
of  the  period  between  the  years  1736  and  1762.  The  father 
of  the  historian  was  a  conspicuous  actor  in  these  times,  and 
the  Chief  Justice  had  the  most  ample  means  of  information. 
The  Biographical  Memoir  furnished  by  his  son,  the  Hon. 
William  Smithf  of  Canada,  though  brief,  will  be  perused  witli 
pleasure  by  all  who  feel  an  interest  in  the  circumstances  of 
one  of  the  most  prominent  public  men  of  his  day.  Here  is  a 
striking  coincidence  in  several  respects,  between  the  proposi- 
tion of  Smith  for  the  government  of  the  colonies  and  that  of 
Dr.  Franklin,  made  in  the  year  1754.  At  this  early  date 
the  question  of  union  was  decided  almost  unanimously :  the 
i*everal  committees  appointed  by  the  respective  States  having 


-,.  / 


S  ff'l 

'I 


J» 


k 


{  ^r 


VI 


icportcd  llicieon,  tho  plan  of  Franklin  was  prel'erred,  and 
with  a  few  amendments  wns  reported.  By  this  plan  tiio 
general  government  was  to  he  administered  hy  a  president 
general  appointed  and  supported  hy  the  crown;  and  a  grand 
council  to  be  chosen  by  the  representatives  of  the  people,  of 
the  several  colonies  met  in  their  respective  assemblies. 

The  author's  geographical  description  of  the  early  state  of 
the  colony  of  New- York,  which  originally  appeared  in  the 
quarto  edition  of  his  history,  is  in  this  edition  embraced  as  an 
appendix  to  volume  first. 

The  State  of  New-York,  while  she  does  justice  to  her  great 
natural  resources,  ought  not  to  be  indiflerent  to  her  own 
fame,  oi  the  reputation  of  her  distinguished  sons.  These  are 
her  property,  not  less  valuable  or  productive  than  the  tolls 
on  her  canals.  By  making  known  meritorious  exertions,  we 
point  out  the  way  to  farther  efforts,  and  excite  the  spirit  of 
emulation.  In  the  present  condition  of  affairs,  this  is  best 
done  by  institutions  like  our  own ;  individual  attempts  are 
for  the  most  part  lost  and  ineffectual.  During  the  period 
embraced  in  the  narrative  of  Smith,  this  State  was  for  a  long 
time  the  chief  seat  of  war,  and  on  its  borders  was  settled 
the  title  to  a  great  part  of  North  America.  Exposed  to  the 
incursions  and  depredations  of  hostile  powers,  its  prosperity 
was  checked  and  its  high  destiny  deferred.  We  are  now  a 
united  people,  and,  under  the  benign  influence  of  republican 
institutions,  its  rank  is  the  first  in  the  confederation. 

May  her  example  shed  a  salutary  influence  over  her  sister 
States,  and  may  those  to  whom  her  fortunes  are  confided, 
continue  to  act  worthy  of  her  and  of  themselves. 

JOHN  W.  FRANCIS,  )  CommiUcc 
JOHN  DELAFIELD,  }         of 
DAVID  HOSACK.       )  Publkafiou. 


City  of  ^Teic-York,  JS'ov.  16,  1829. 


I 

t 
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It 


' ■'■-^'^«-«,,J« 


A^i 


CONTENTe?. 


PART  I.                                           rAOt. 
From  theDiBCOvery  of  the  Colony  to  the  Surrender  in  1664, 1 

PART  II. 
From  tho  Surrender  in  1664,  to  tho  Sottlomont  at  the  Revolution, 35 

PART  III. 

From  tho  Revolution  to  the  second  Expedition  against  Canada, 109 

PART  IV. 

From  tho  Canada  Expedition  in  1709,  to  tho  arrival  of  Governor 
Bumeti 19' 

PART  V. 

From  the  year  1720,  to  the  commencement  of  the  administration  of 
Colonel  Cosby, 247 

APPENDIX. 

Chap.  I.— A  Geographical  Dosciiption  of  the  Country, 295 

Chap,  n.— Of  tho  Inhabitants, 323 

Chap.  III.— Of  our  Trade, 330 

Chap.  IV.— Of  our  Religious  State, ..330 

Chap.V.— ThePoUUcalSUto, 350 

Chap.  VI.— Of  our  Laws  and  Courts, 367 


.,^^1 


i,j> 


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i 


MEMOIR 


OF   THE 


HONOURABLE  WILLIAM  SMITH, 


WRITTEN  BY  HIS  SON. 


I 


William  Smith  was  born  at  Now- York,  on  the 
25th  of  June,  1728.  His  father,  a  lawyer  of  emi- 
nence in  that  province,  became  a  member  of  his 
majesty's  council,  and  was  afterwards  appointed 
judge  of  the  court  of  King's  Bench.  Judge  Smith 
left  many  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  memoir. 

Mr.  Smith  was  thus  descended  from  a  respectable 
family  in  the  province,  and  his  father  perceiving  he 
evinced  considerable  talent  in  his  youth,  sent  him 
early  to  a  grammar  school  at  New- York.  At  school 
he  was  an  extraordinary  proficient ;  and  when  suffi- 
ciently instructed,  was  sent  to  Yale  College,  at  New 
Haven,  in  Connecticut,  where  he  distinguished  him- 
self so  much  by  his  learning  and  assiduity,  that  he 
obtained  the  degree  of  A.  M.  at  a  very  early  age. 

He  was  well  acquainted  with  the  ancient  writers, 
particularly  with  the  Greek  Philosophers,  whose 
history  he  read  in  their  native  language ;  while  he 
understood  sufficient  of  the  Hebrew  to  become 
familiar  with  many  things  in  Rabbinical  learning. 
He  made  the  study  of  divinity  a  chief  pursuit ;  and 
those  who  read  what  he  had  written  on  this  important 


/ 


\. 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    AUTHOR. 


subject,  were  astonished  at  his  knowledge  of  the 
scriptures ;  while  to  many  it  appeared  incredible, 
that  one  man  should  have  acquired  in  a  few  years 
such  variety  of  knowledge  in  matters  unconnected 
with  his  immediate  avocations. 

He  had  great  readiness  in  arithmetic,  was  an  ex- 
cellent mathematician,  and  in  medicine  was  so  well 
informed,  that  several  eminent  physicians  of  his  na- 
tive state  have  declared,  that  in  answer  to  several 
questions  propounded  to  him  on  this  science,  he  had 
discovered  great  judgment,  as  well  as  minute  know- 
ledge :  indeed  he  understood  almost  as  much  of  the 
general  principles  of  the  healing  art,  as  speculation 
without  practice  could  enable  him. 

He  was  a  devout  christian,  a  sincere  protestant,  and 
tolerant  and  just  to  those  from  whom  he  differed 
most.  He  used  constantly  to  worship  God  in  his 
family,  performing  its  duties  always  himself. 

Having  spent  several  years  at  college,  Mr.  Smith 
repaired  to  his  native  city,  where  he  studied  law ;  and 
after  being  called  to  the  bar,  he  entered  into  a  very 
extensive  practice :  he  was  above  the  mean  appetite 
of  loving  money,  for  if  he  saw  a  cause  was  unjust, 
he  would  state  that  it  was  so,  and  if  the  litigant  par- 
ties persisted  in  their  respective  views,  he  would  de- 
sire them  to  seek  another  counsellor :  if  he  found  the 
cause  doubtful,  he  always  advised  his  client  to  com- 
promise; when  differences  were  referred  to  him, 
which  he  settled,  he  would  receive  no  reward,  though 
offered  it  by  both  parties,  considering  himself  in  these 
cases  as  a  judge ;  observing,  that  "  a  judge  ought  to 
take  no  money."  He  was  an  eloquent  speaker, 
remarkable  for  the  soundness  of  his  law  opinions', 


"--m^. 


-\ 


MEMOIR   OP    THE    AUTHOK. 


XI. 


<r^\ 


many  of  which  are  collected  and  recorded  in  a  book 


^.^  ^y  Chalmers,  entitled,  •'  Opinions  of  Eminent  Law- 
He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Robertson  the 


^■'    yers  " 


historian  of  America^  and  of  many  other  literary 
characters  of  that  day. 

He  was  appointed  a  member  of  his  majesty's  coun- 
cil as  early  as  the  year  1769,  where  his  attendance 
was  regular,  his  integrity  unquestioned,  and  his  loy- 
alty firm  to  his  king ;  and  when  the  lowering  clouds 
caused  by  the  Stamp  Act,  began  to  spread  over  the 
continent,  he  saw  the  danger  likely  to  result  from 
the  measure,  and  drew  up  a  plan  of  union  of  all  his 
majesty's  colonies,  which  if  it  had  been  then  adopted, 
might  have  prevented  the  civil  war  that  ensued, 
and  the  dismemberment  of  the  Briti?h  empire  in 
America. 

The  direct  tax  that  was  devised  by  parliament  in 
1764,  was  the  origin  of  the  controversy :  both  coun- 
tries resorted  to  the  constitution  for  arguments  in 
support  of  tenets  diametrically  opposite  to  each  other : 
on  the  part  of  America  there  was  a  claim  set  up 
to  all  the  rights  of  Englishmen ;  and  it  was  inferred 
that  no  tax  could  be  laid  upon  them  without  the 
consent  of  their  assemblies.  Great  Britain  on  the 
other  hand  attempted  to  justify  her  measures  by  ad- 
mitting the  principle  but  denying  the  consequence  t 
she  contending  that  America  was  virtually  represent- 
ed by  the  commons  of  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Bmith 
proposed  a  plan  of  union  of  all  the  colonies  friendly 
to  the  great  whole,  and  linking  them  and  Great 
Britain  together  by  the  most  indissoluble  ties  :  all 
requisitions  for  aid  and  supplies  for  general  purposes, 
had  been  formerly  addressed  to  the  several  provincial 


xii. 


MEMOIR   OF   THE   AUTIIOK. 


It 


assemblies ;  it  was  now  proposed  this  should  be  made 
to  the  general  government.  It  was  not  however  in- 
tended to  annihilate  the  assemblies,  but  that  there 
should  be  a  lord  lieutenant  as  in  Ireland,  and  a  coun- 
cil of  at  least  twenty  four  members,  appointed  by  the 
crown  or  the  house  of  commons,  consisting  of  de- 
puties chosen  by  their  respective  assemblies,  to  meet 
at  the  central  province  of  New- York,  as  the  parlia- 
ment of  North  America.  To  this  body  it  was  pro- 
posed all  the  royal  requisitions  for  aids  were  to  be 
made,  and  they  were  to  have  authority  to  grant  for 
all ;  to  settle  the  quotas  for  each,  leaving  the  ways 
and  means  to  their  separate  consideration,  unless  in 
cases  of  default.  The  members  of  the  council  were 
to  depend  upon  the  royal  pleasure,  but,  to  preserve 
independency,  they  were  lo  be  men  of  fortune,  and 
hold  their  pliaces  for  life,  with  some  honorable  distinc- 
tion to  their  families,  as  a  lure  to  prevent  the  office 
falling  into  contempt. 

The  number  of  deputies  was  to  be  proportioned 
to  the  comparative  weight  and  abilities  of  the  colo- 
nies they  represented.  The  two  Floridas,  Rhode 
Island,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Georgia,  to  have  five  each ; 
New  Hampshire,  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  and 
Quebec,  each  seven ;  South  Carolina  and  New  Jer- 
sey, each  eleven;  New- York,  Pennsylvania, and  Con- 
necticut, each  twelve  ;  and  Massachusetts  Bay  and 
Virginia,  each  fifteen.  The  whole  house  would  thus 
consist  of  one  hundred  and  forty-one  members,  a 
small  number  when  the  importance  of  the  trust  was 
considered,  but  to  be  increased  when  the  colonies 
became  more  populous  and  desired  it.  The  crown  to 
retain  its  ancient  negative,  and  the  British  Parliament 


it 


MEMOIR   OF    THE    AUTHOR. 


Xlit. 


its  legislative  supremacy  in  all  cases  relative  to  life, 
liberty  and  property,  ex'  =  t  in  the  matter  of  taxations 
for  general  aids,  or  for  .o  immediate  support  of  the 
American  government.  A  dignified  government 
like  this,  it  was  supposed,  would  produce  unspeak- 
able advantages  by  making  the  colonies  better  known, 
and  that  it  would  correct  the  many  disorders  that  had 
crept  into  some  of  the  colonial  constitutions,  dan- 
gerous in  some  instances  to  the  colonists  themselves 
and  their  British  creditors,  nnd  derogative  of  the 
first  rights,  and  many  of  the  prerogatives  of  the 
crown  most  friendly  to  peace  and  good  order. 

The  minister,  G.  Grenville,  approved  of  the  plan, 
but  never  brought  it  forward  in  parliament ;  and  thus 
things  remained,  until  Great  Britain,  in  1775,  de- 
termined to  tax  the  colonies  wiihout  their  consent. 
Mr.  Smith  deeply  deplored  the  contentions  that  after- 
wards took  place,  and  long  before  the  civil  war  broke 
out,  exerted  every  means  in  his  power  to  avert  it. 

General  Tryon,  the  governor  of  New- York,  find- 
ing it  no  longer  safe  to  remain  in  the  city,  embarked 
on  board  the  Dutchess  of  Gordon,  signifying  to  the 
council  that  he  would  not  meet  them  again  in  public 
business ;  leaving  each  member  at  liberty  to  retire 
where  he  pleased.  Mr.  Smith  then  repaired  to  his 
country  seat  at  Haverstraw,  about  forty  miles  from 
New- York.  He  was  not  long  there  before  he  was 
summoned,  3d  June,  1777,  to  attend  the  council 
of  safety  at  Kingston,  and  being  introduced  before 
them,  he  was  asked  whether  he  considered  himself 
a  subject  of  the  Independent  States  of  America  ? 
to  which  he  replied,  that  he  did  not  conceive  himself 
discharged  from  his  oaths  of  fidelity  to  the  crown 


f#.!»'!*(Hi;ij 


XIV. 


MKMOIR  OF   THE   AUTHOR. 


of  Great  Britain  ;  upon  which  an  order  was  imme- 
diately made  by  the  board,  of  the  7th  of  June, 
ordering  him  to  be  confined,  within  the  manor  of 
Livingston,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  sent  into 
New- York,  by  a  flag,  under  the  superintendance  of 
Colonel  Burr,  by  order  of  General  Washington. 

Mr.  Smith  remained  at  New- York  till  the  evacua- 
tion of  that  city  by  the  king's  troops,  and  went  to 
England  with  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  the  then  com- 
mander-in-chief. He  there  remained  until  he  was 
appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Canada,  in  1786,  and 
continued  to  hold  that  station  until  he  died,  on  3d 
December,  1793.  He  thus  held  his  oflice  as  chief 
justice  for  seven  years,  managing  the  court  and  all 
proceedings  in  it,  with  singular  justice.  It  was 
observed  by  the  whole  country,  how  much  he  raised 
its  reputation ;  and  those  who  held  places  and  oflices 
in  it,  all  declared,  not  only  the  impartiality  of  his 
justice,  but  his  generosity,  his  vast  diligence,  and 
his  great  exactness  in  trials.  It  was  customary 
before  his  time,  that  all  prisoners  should  be  brought 
into  court,  in  the  custody  of  a  party  of  soldiers ; 
he  disapproved  of  this,  and  established,  for  the  first 
time,  the  appointment  of  constables,  ordering  them 
to  be  provided  with  their  batons  of  oflice,  which 
has  been  continued  ever  since.  He  was  taken  with 
a  shivering  flt  in  court,  and  it  was  succeeded  by  an 
ardent  fever,  which  no  medical  skill  could  arrest 
or  destroy  A  day  before  his  death,  he  desired  one 
of  his  children  to  send  round  to  the  clergymen  of 
each  communion  a  declaration  to  be  read  in  the 
several  churches,  of  his  firm  belief  in  the  Divinity 


L... 


MEMOIR    OF    THE    AUTHOR. 


XV 


of  his  Saviour.     He  was  buried  on  the  4th  Decem- 
ber, 1793,  in  the  Episcopal  church. 

As  a  christian,  he  was  one  of  the  greatest  patterns 
of  the  time  in  which  he  lived;  and,  in  his  public 
employments,  either  when  at  the  bar  or  on  the  bench, 
was  equally  distinguished  as  a  model  of  christian 
perfection. 

Having  thus  given  his  history  and  character,  it  is 
necessary  to  give  the  relation  of  what  was  private 
and  domestic. 

William  Smith  was  married  to  Miss  Janet  Living- 
ston, daughter  of  James  Livingston,  esq  of  the  city 
of  New- York,  merchant.  This  lady  was  distinguish- 
ed for  her  disposition,  eminent  piety,  and  excellence 
of  character.  She  died  on  the  anniversary  of  her 
birth-day,  in  the  9(»th  year  of  her  age.  By  her  he  had 
eleven  children,  several  of  whom  died  young ;  his 
daughter  Elizabeth,  who  had  obtained  the  age  of 
seventeen,  died  at  Haverstraw,  in  1776,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  deep  interest  she  took  in  the  public 
troubles,  that  then  agitated  the  country. 

His  eldest  son,  William,  who  is  still  alive,  went  to 
England  from  New- York,  was  educated  at  a  gram- 
mar school,  at  Kensington,  near  London,  and  came 
to  Canada  with  hib  father,  in  1786.  He  was  soon 
appointed  clerk  of  the  provincial  parliament,  subse- 
quently a  master  in  chancery,  and,  in  1814,  was 
appointed  by  the  Earl  Bathurst,  then  his  majesty's 
secretary  of  state,  a  member  of  the  executive  coun- 
cil. He  married  Susan,  daughter  of  Admiral  Charles 
Webner,  of  the  county  of  Hampshire,  in  England, 
by  whom  he  had  five  children.  His  eldest  daughter, 
Janet,  married  John  Plinderhath,  of  Glen,  in  the 


!| 


.  ^■l)1 


]l)rr=±z 


\vi. 


.MEMOIR    OP    THE    AUTHOR. 


i  I   ( 


\\ 


\]        \ 


I 


W       I 


county  of  Peebles,  in  Scotland,  who  dying,  left  her 
with  six  children,  four  sons  and  two  daughters. 
Three  of  the  sons  entered  into  the  army,  and  were 
distinguished  for  their  conduct ;  one  at  Maida,*  and 
the  others  at  Stoney  Creek  and  Chrysler's  farm,  in 
Canada. 

Their  son  John,  who  was  a  physician,  and  served 
under  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  in  the  peninsular 
war,  lost  his  life  in  the  discharge  of  his  professional 
duties,  was  buried  at  Coimbra,  and  has  a  monument 
erected  to  his  memory  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

His  second  daughter,  Mary,  married  Lieutenant 
General  William  Doyle,  of  Waterford,  in  Ireland, 
many  years  in  the  staff  of  that  country  as  a  general 
officer.  Both  ar«  now  dead.  They  have  lett  two 
sons  and  one  daughter,  who  are  living. 

His  third  daughter,  Harriet,  married  Jonathan 
Dewitt,  Chief  Justice  of  the  province  of  Lower 
Canada,  by  whom  she  has  eleven  children,  several 
of  whom  are  honourably  settled  at  Quebec. 

*  The  buttle  of  Maida  is  one  of  Uic  most  brilliant  acliiovemcnts  of  the  Britisii 
arms.  See  Mr.  Windham's  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Annual  Regis- 
ter. 1806. 


J  if     i 


K 


her 
ers. 
'ere 
and 

1,  in 

ved 
ular 
3nal 
lent 

lant 
and, 
leral 
two 


THE 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK, 


PART  I. 


FROM   THE  DISCOVERY   OP  THE   COLONY   TO   THE 
SURRENDER   IN    1«64. 


than 
mev 
eral 


Britisli 

Reoris- 


CiiRiSTOPHER  Columbus,  a  Genoese,  employed  by 
Ferdinand  and  Isabel,  king  and  queen  of  Caatile, 
was  the  first  discoverer  of  America.*  He  sailed 
from  St.  Lucar  in  August,  1492,  and  made  sight 
of  one  of  the  Bahama  Islands,  on  the  eleventh  of 
October  following.  Newfoundland  and  the  main 
continent  were  discovered  five  years  after,  by 
Sebastian  Gabato,  a  Venetian,  in  the  service  of 
Henry  VII.  of  England,  from  the  thirty-eighth  to 
the  sixty-eighth  degree  of  north  latitude. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1606,  King  James  I.  for 
planting  two  colonies,  passed  the  great  north  and 

*  Some  authors  allege  that  Columbus  first  ofTerad  hii  services  to  the  repub> 
lie  of  Genoa ;  then  to  John  II.  of  Portugal,  and  afterwards  to  our  Kin^r,  Henry 
VH- ;  but  this  disagrees  with  Lord  Bacon's  account,  who  informs  us,  that  Chris- 
topher Columbus  sailed  before  his  brother  Bartliolomew  had  laid  the  project 
before  the  king,  which  was  owing  to  his  falling  into  the  hands  of  pirates  on  his 
way  to  England. 

VOL.    I. — 1 


Iir,^'*^ 


;    .» 


9 


UIHTORY   OF  NBW-YORK. 


south  Virginia  patent.  To  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  and 
others,  leave  was  given  to  begin  a  plantation,  at 
any  place  on  the  continent  they  should  think  con- 
venient, between  the  thirty-fourth  and  forty-first 
degrees  of  latitude  ;  and  all  the  lands  extending  fifly 
miles,  on  each  side,  along  the  coast,  one  hundred 
miles  into  the  country,  and  all  the  islands  within 
one  hundred  miles  opposite  to  their  plantations, 
were  granted  in  fee,  to  be  called  the  First  Colony. 
By  the  same  patent,  a  like  quantity  was  granted  to 
Thomas  Henham,  Esquire,  and  others,  for  a  plan- 
tation between  thirty-eight  and  forty-five  degrees 
of  latitude,  under  the  name  of  the  Second  Colony. 
The  first  began  a  settlement  in  the  great  bay 
(Chesapeak)  in  1607.  The  latter  was  planted  at 
Plymouth,  in  New-England,  1620. 

Henry  Hudson,  an  Englishman,  according  to  our 
authors,  in  the  year  1608,*  under  a  commission 
from  the  king  his  master,  discovered  Long-Island« 
New- York,  and  the  river  which  still  bears  his  name; 
and  afterwards  sold  the  country,  or  rather  his  right, 
to  the  Dutch.  Their  writers  contend  that  Hudson 
was  sent  out  by  the  East-India  Company  in  1609, 
to  discover  a  north-west  passage  to  China;  and 
that  having  first  discovered  Delaware  bay,  he  came 
hither,  and  penetrated  Hudson's  river  as  far  north 
as  the  latitude  of  forty-three  degrees.  It  is  said, 
however,  that  there  was  a  sale,  and  that  the  English 
objected  to  it,  though  they  for  some  time  neglected 
to  oppose  the  Dutch  settlement  of  the  country. 

In  1610,  Hudson  sailed  again  from  Holland  to 


*  Sec  Note  A. 


HISTORY    OF   iNEW-YORK. 


this  country,  called  by  the  Dutch  New- Netherlands ; 
and  four  years  afler,  the  States  General  granted  a 
patent  to  sundry  merchants,  for  an  exclusive  trade 
on  the  North  River,  who,  in  1614,  built  a  fort  on  the 
west  side,  near  Albany,  which  was  first  commanded 
by  Henry  Christiaens.  Captain  Argal  was  sent  out 
by  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  governor  of  Virginia,  in  the 
same  year,  to  dispossess  the  French  of  the  two  towns 
of  Port-Royal  and  St.  Croix,  lying  on  each  side  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  in  Acadia,  then  claimed  as  part 
of  Virginia.*  In  his  return  he  visited  the  Dutch  on 
Hudson's  river,  who,  being  unable  to  resist  him, 
prudently  submitted  for  the  present  to  the  king  of 
England,  and  under  him  to  the  governor  of  Virginia. 
The  very  next  year,  they  erected  a  fort  on  the 
south-west  point  of  the  island  of  Manhattans,  and 
two  others  in  1623 ;  one  called  Good-Hope,  on  Con- 
necticut river,  and  the  other  Nassau,  on  the  east 
side  of  Delaware  bay.  The  author  of  the  account 
of  New-Netherlandt  asserts  that  the  Dutch  pur- 
chased the  lands  on  both  sides  of  that  river,  in  1632, 
before  the  English  were  settled  in  those  parts ;  and 
that  they  discovered  a  little  fresh  river,  farther  to 
the  east,  called  Varsche  Rimertie,  to  distinguish  it 
from  Connecticut  river,  known  among  them  by  the 
name  of  Varsche  Rivier,  which  Vanderdonk  also 
claims  for  the  Dutch. 

Determined  upon  the  settlement  of  a  colony,  the 
States  General  made  a  grant  of  the  country,  in  1621, 


8:   'UJ 


*  Charlevoix  places  this  transaction  in  1613.  Vol.  I.  hist,  of  N.  France  ii 
12nio.  p.  210.  But  Stilli,  whom  I  follow,  being  a  clergyman  in  Virginia,  had 
greater  advantages  of  knowing  the  truth  than  tho  French  jesnit. 

+  See  note  B.  . 


(fl 


MH 


HISTOHT   OF  NEW-YORK. 


to  the  Woflt-Tndia  Company.  Wouter  Van  Twiller, 
arrived  at  fort  Amsterdam,  now  New- York,  and 
took  upon  himself  the  government,  in  June,  1629. 
His  style,  in  the  patents  granted  by  him,  was  thus  : 
"  We,  director  and  council,  residing  in  New-Neth- 
erland,  on  the  island  Manhattans,  under  the  govern- 
ment of  their  high  mightinesses,  the  Lords  Btatea 
General  of  the  United  Netherlands,  and  the  privi- 
leged West-India  Company."  In  this  time  the 
New-England  planters  extended  their  possession 
westward  as  far  as  Connecticut  river.  Jacob  Van 
Curlet,  the  commissary  there,  protested  against  it, 
and,  in  the  second  year  of  the  succeeding  adminis- 
tration, under 

William  Kieft,*  who  appears  first  in  1638,  a  pro- 
hibition was  issued,  forbidding  the  English  trade  at 
fort  Good-Hope;  and  shortly  a^er,  on  complaint 
of  the  insolence  of  the  English,  an  order  of  council 
was  made  for  sending  more  forces  there,  to  maintain 
the  Dutch  territories.  Dr.  Mather  confesses,  that 
the  New-England  men  first  formed  their  design  of 
settling  Connecticut  river  in  1635,  before  which 
time  they  esteemed  that  river  at  least  one  hundred 
miles  from  an  English  settlement ;  and  that  they 
first  seated  themselves  there  in  1636,  at  Hartford, 
near  fort  Good-Hope,  at  Weathersfield,  Windsor, 
and  Springfield.  Four  years  after,  they  seized  the 
Dutch  garrison,  and  drove  them  from  the  banks  of 
the  river,  having  first  settled  New-Haven  in  1638, 
regardless  of  Keift's  protest  against  it. 

*  Wo  have  no  books  among  our  Dutch  records  remaining  in  the  Secretary's 
office,  reialiiig  to  state  matters  before  Kieft's  time,  nor  any  enrobnent  of  patents 
till  a  year  after  Van  Twiller  arrived  here.  Mr.  Jacob  Goelet  supplied  us  with 
saveral  extracts  from  the  Dutch  recorbs. 


W  U 


■-^>'Sf »»•*■■■  *-*..- 


HISTORY    Ol'    NEW-IORK. 


5 


#  I 


Tho  extent  of  New-Neth«rland  was  to  Delaware, 
then  called  South  river,  and  beyond  it;  for  I  find,  in 
the  Dutch  records,  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  William 
Kieft,  May  6,  1638,  directed  to  Peter  Minuit,^  who 
eeems,  by  the  tenor  of  it,  to  be  the  Swedish  gover- 
nor of  New-Sweden,  asserting,  "that  the  whole  south 
river  of  New-Netherlands  had  been  in  the  Dutch 
possession  many  years,  above  and  below,  beset  with 
forts,  and  sealed  with  their  blood  :" — Which,  Kiefl 
adds,  has  happened  even  during  your  administration 
**  in  New-Nethcrlund,  and  so  well  known  to  you." 

The  Dutch  writers  are  not  agreed  in  the  extent  of 
Nova  Belgia  or  New-Netherland  ;  some  describe  it 
to  be  from  Virginia  to  Canada,  and  others  inform 
us  that  the  arms  of  the  States  General  were  erected 
at  Gape  Cod,  Connecticut,  and  Hudson's  river,  and 
on  the  west  side  of  the  entrance  into  Delaware  bay. 
The  author  of  the  pamphlet  mentioned  in  the  notes 
gives  Canada  river  for  a  boundary  on  the  north,  and 
calls  the  country,  northwest  from  Albany,  Terra 
Incognita. 

In  1640,  the  English,  who  had  overspread  the 
eastern  part  of  Long-Island,  advanced  to  Oysterbay. 
Kieft  broke  up  their  settlement  in  164^,  and  fitted 
out  two  sloops  to  drive  the  English  out  of  Schuylkill, 
of  which  the  Marylanders  had  lately  possessed  them- 
selves The  instructions,  dated  May  22,  to  Jan  Jan- 
sen  Alpendam,  who  commanded  in  that  enterprise, 
are  upon  record,  and  strongly  assert  the  right  of  tho 
Dutch  both  to  the  soil  and  trade  there.  The  English 
from  the  eastward  shortly  after  sent  deputies  to 
New-Amsterdam,  for  the  accommodation  of  their 


i 


)  a 


Seo  Note  C. 


»*^rm*T#r-^ 


fll 


\: 


6 


IliaXORY    OF   NEW'YOUli. 


disputes  about  limits,  to  whom  the  Dutch  offered  the 
following  r  ''ti.  t»,  elH^Tftd  in  their  books  exactly 
ill  t^if  «e  Wtt.  ^k 

"Coiuj.uones  A  V.  Plwetore  (ien.  ifnatuys  Novi 

Br'l((ii,  Duminii^  u  Wytitigh  atque  Hill    Deiegatis 

H  palk\\\  i^enatu  Hartfordiensi,  oblatee  : 

**9ii^  Agro  nostroHarttordionai,  annuo  porsolvont 

Prrepou  //ff/f  p.  D.  Ordinibus  Foed.    Pfovinciarum 

Bclgicarum  uuf  eorum  vicariis,  decimam  partem  re- 

ventus  agrorum,  tum  aratro  tum  ligone,  aliovo  cul- 

torum  medio ;  pomariiis,  hortisq :  oleribus   dicatis, 

jugerum  Huliandium   non   excedcntibus  exceptis ; 

aut  dccimarum  loco,  pretium  nobile  postca  constitu- 

endum,  tam  diu  quam  diu  posscHsores  ejusdum  agri 

futuri  erunt.  Actum  in  arce  Amstelodamensi  in  novo 

Belgio,  Die  Julii  9,  Anno  Chriati  1642." 

We  have  no  account  that  the  English  acceded  to 
these  proposals,  nor  is  it  probable,  considering  their 
superior  strength,  that  they  ever  did:  on  the  contrary 
they  daily  extended  their  possessions,  and,  in  1643, 
the  colonies  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  Plymouth, 
Connecticut  and  New-Haven  entered  iuio  a  leasfue 
both  against  the  Dutch  and  Indians,  and  grew  so 
powerful  as  to  meet  shortly  after,  upon  a  design  of 
extirpating  the  former.  The  Massachusetts  Bay 
declined  this  enterprise,  which  occasioned  a  letter 
to  Oliver  Cromwell  from  William  Hooke,  dated  at 
New  Havor,  November  3,  1653,  in  which  he  com- 
plains of  the  Dutch,  for  supplying  the  natives  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  begs  his  assistance  with  two 
or  three  frigates,  and  that  letters  might  be  sent  to  the 
eastern  colonies,  commanding  them  to  join  in  an 
expedition  against  the  Dutch  colony,  Oliver's  affairs 


HISTURT    OF   fTEW-YuKK. 


;,i> 


would  not  admit  of  so  distant  an  nttempt  ;* — but 
Richard  Cromwell  afterwards  drew  up  instructions 
to  his  commanders  for  subduing  tlie  Duf'h  here, 
and  wrote  letters  to  the  English  Am.ri(  an  govern- 
Rtents  for  their  aid — copies  of  wlur'i  are  pre.^rrved 
in  Thurloe's  Collection,  vol.  I.  p.  721,  &,c. 

Peter  Stuyvesant  was  the  last  Dutch  go  "ornor  ; 
and  though  he  had  a  commission  in  1646,  he  .did 
not  begin  his  administration  till  May  27,  1647. — 
The  inrondf  tWyl  claims  upon  his  government  kept 
him  cc  st  ^.  ii^  .  :aploycd.  New-England  on  the 
east,  a'd  Maryland  on  the  west,  alarmed  his  fears 
by  t'leir  daily  increase;  and  about  the  same  time 
capi.iin  Forrester,  a  Scotchman,  claimed  Long- 
Island  for  the  dowager  of  Stirling.  The  Swedes 
too  were  encroaching  upon  Delaware  :  through  the 
unskilfulness  of  the  mate,  one  Deswyck,  a  Swedish 
captain  and  supercargo,  arrived  in  Raritan  river ; 
the  ship  was  seized,  and  himself  made  a  prisoner 
at  New-Amsterdam.  Stuyvesant's  reasons  were 
these: — In  1651,  the  Dutch  built  fort  Casimir,  now 
called  Newcastle,  on  Delaware.  The  Swedes,  in- 
deed, claimed  the  country,  and  Printz  their  governor 
formally  protested  against  the  works.  Risingh,  his 
successor,  under  the  disguise  of  friendship,  came  be- 
fore the  fortress,  fired  two  salutes,  and  landed  thirty 
men,  who  were  entertained  by  thf  commandant  as 
friends;  but  he  had  no  sooner  discovered  the  weak- 
ness of  the  garrison,  than  he  made  himself  master  of 
it  °"^zing  also  upon  all  the  ammunition,  houses,  and 
other  effects  of  the  West-India  Company,  and  com- 


! 


S«e  note  D. 


!A 


■  ■.•V.  ■*t»/w«1ln«CS...a**»  ■"  ■- 


fyUm 


J^um^lg^ 


6 


lUSTOHY   OF  NEW-YOUK. 


pelling  several  of  the  people  to  swear  allegiance  to 
Christina,  queen  of  Sweden.     The  Dutch,  in  1655, 
prepared  to  retake  fort  Casimir.     Stuyvesant  com- 
manded the  forces  in  person,  and  arrived  with  them 
in  Delaware  the  9th  of  September.     A  few  days 
after,  he  anchored  before  the  garrison,  and  landed 
his  troops.  The  fortress  was  immediately  demanded 
as  Dutch  property  :  Suen  Scutz,  the  commandant, 
desired   leave    to    consult  Risingh,  which  being 
refused,  he  surrendered  the  16th  of  September,  on 
articles  of  capitulation.     The  whole  strength  of  the 
place  consisted  of  four  cannon,  fourteen  pounders, 
five  swivels,  and  a  parcel  of  small  arms,  which  were 
all  delivered  to  the  conquered.     Fort  Chrislini  was 
commanded  by  Risingh.    Stuyvesant  came  before  it, 
and  Risingh  surrendered  it  upon  terms  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  September.     The  country  being  thus  sub- 
dued, the  Dutch  governor  issued  a  proclamation  in 
favour  of  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  would  submit  to 
the  new  government,  and  about  thirty  Swedes  swore 
"  fidelity  and  obedience  to  the  States  General,  the 
lords  directors  of  the  West-India  Company,  their 
subalterns  of  the  province  of  New-Netherlands,  and 
the  director  general  then,  or  thereafter,  to  be  estab- 
lished."  Risingh  and  one  Elswych,  a  trader  of  note, 
were  ordered  to  France  or  England,  and  the  rest  of 
the  Swedish  inhabitants  to  Holland,  and  from  thence 
to  Gottenberg.    The  Swedes  being  thus  extirpated, 
the  Dutch  became  possessed  of  the  west  side  of 
Delaware  bay,  now  called  the  three  lower  counties. 
This  country  was  afterwards  under  the  command 
of  lieutenant  governors,  subject  to  the  control  of, 
wnd  commissioned  by,  the  director  general  at  New- 


114 


HISTORY   OF   KEW-VOKKt 


9 


Amsterdam.  Johan  Paul  Jaquet  was  the  first  vice- 
director,  or  lieutenant  governor,  of  South  River."^ 
His  successors  were  Alricks  Hinojossa,  and  Wil- 
liam Beekman.  The  posterity  of  the  last  remains 
amongst  us  to  this  day.  These  lieutenants  had 
power  to  grant  lands,  and  their  patents  make  a 
part  of  the  ancient  titles  of  the  present  possessors. 
Alrick's  commission,  of  the  twelfth  of  April  1657, 
shows  the  extent  of  the  Dutch  claim  on  the  west 
side  of  Delaware  at  that  time.  He  was  appointed 
"  director-general  of  the  colony  of  the  South  River  of 
New-Netherlands,  and  the  fortress  of  Casimir,  now 
called  Niewer  Amstel,  with  all  the  lands  depending 
thereon,  according  to  the  first  purchase  and  deed  of 
release  of  the  natives,  dated  July  19,  1651,  begin- 
ning at  the  west  side  of  the  Minquaa,  or  Christina 
Kill,  in  the  Indian  language  named  Suspecough,  to 
the  mouth  of  the  bay  or  river  called  Bompt-hook,  in 
the  Indian  language  Cannaresse ;  and  so  far  inland 
as  the  bounds  and  limits  of  the  Minquaas'  land, 
with  all  the  streams,  &c.  appurtenances,  and  de- 
pendencies." Of  the  country  northward  of  the  Kill, 
no  mention  is  made.  Orders,  in  1658,  were  given 
to  William  Beekman  to  purchase  cape  Hinlopen 
from  the  natives,  and  to  settle  and  fortify  it,  which, 
for  want  of  goods,  was  not  done  till  the  succeeding 
year. 

In  the  year  1659,  fresh  troubles  arose  from  the 
Maryland  claim  to  the  lands  on  South  river ;  and  in 
September  colonel  Nathaniel  Utie,  as  commissioner 
from  Feudal,  lord  Baltimore's  governor,  arrived  at 
Niewer  Amstel,  from  Maryland.  The  country  was 
ordered  to  be  evacuated,  lord  BaUimore  claiming  all 

vol,  I — 2 


10' 


,'  'i 


rM. 


10 


UI8T0Uir    OV   NEW-YOUK. 


the  land  between  thirty-eight  and  forty  degrees  of 
latitude,  from  sea  to  sea.  Beekman  and  his  coun- 
cil demanded  evidence  of  his  lordship's  right,  and 
offered  to  prove  the  States  General's  grant  to  the 
West-India  Company,  theirs  to  them,  payment  for 
the  land,  and  possession ;  and  upon  the  whole,  pro- 
posed to  refer  the  controversy  to  the  republics  of 
England  and  Holland,  praying  at  the  same  time, 
three  weeks  to  consult  Stuyvesant,  the  general. 
The  commissioner,  notwithstanding,  a  few  days 
after,  warned  him  to  draw  oft*  beyond  the  latitude  of 
forty  degrees ;  but  Beekman  disregarded  the  threat. 
Colonel  Utie  thereupon  returned  to  Maryland,  and 
an  immediate  invasion  was  expected. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1660,  Nicholas 
Varleth,  and  Brian  Newton,  were  despatched  from 
fort  Amsterdam  to  Virginia,  in  quality  of  ambassa- 
dors, with  full  power  to  open  a  trade,  and  conclude 
a  league  offensive  and  defensive  against  the  barba- 
rians. William  Berckly,  the  governor,  gave  them  a 
kind  reception,  and  approved  their  proposal  of  peace 
and  commerce,  which  Sir  Henry  Moody  was  sent 
here  to  agree  upon  and  perfect.  Four  articles  to  that 
purpose  were  drawn  up  and  sent  to  the  governor  for 
confirmation.  Stuyvesant  artfully  endeavoured,  at 
this  treaty,  to  procure  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
Dutch  title  to  the  country,  which  Berckly  as  carefully 
avoided.     This  was  his  answer : 

"Sir :  I  have  received  the  letter  you  were  pleased 
to  send  me,  by  Mr.  Mills,  his  vessel,  and  shall  be 
ever  ready  to  comply  with  you  in  all  acts  of  neigh- 
bourly friendship  and  amity.     But  truly  sir  you 


^-..A 


HISTORY   or  IS EW- YORK. 


U 


desire  me  to  do  that,  concerning  your  titles  and 
claims  to  land  in  this  northern  part  of  America, 
which  I  am  in  no  capacity  to  do ;  for  I  am  but  a 
servant  of  the  Assembly  ;  neither  do  they  arrogate 
any  power  to  themselves,  farther  than  the  miserable 
distractions  of  England  force  them  to.  For  when 
God  shall  be  pleased  in  his  mercy  to  take  away  and 
dissipate  the  unnatural  divisions  of  their  native 
country,  they  will  immediately  return  to  their  own 
professed  obedience.  What  then  they  should  do 
in  matters  of  contract,  donation,  or  confession  of 
right,  would  have  little  strength  or  signification ; 
much  more  presumptive  and  impertinent  would  it 
be  in  me  to  do  it  without  their  knowledge  or  assent. 
Wh  shall  very  shortly  meet  again,  and  then,  if  to 
ihvm  you  signify  your  desires,  I  shall  labour  all  I 
oau  to  get  you  a  satisfactory  answer. 
"I  am,  sir, 

"  Your  humble  servant,  *' 

-  "  William  Berckly. 

tt  Virginia,  Mgust  20,  1660."  , 

Governor  Stuyvesant  was  a  faithful  servant  of  the 
West-India  Company :  this  is  abundantly  proved  by 
his  letters  to  them,  exciting  their  care  of  the  colony. 
In  one,  dated  April  20, 1660,  which  is  very  long  and 
pathetic,  representing  the  desperate  situation  of 
affairs  on  both  sides  of  New-Netherland,  he  writes, 
"  Your  honors  imagine  that  the  troubles  in  England 
will  prevent  any  attempt  on  these  parts :  alas !  they 
are  ten  to  one  in  number  to  us,  and  are  able  with- 
out any  assistance,  to  deprive  us  of  the  country  when 
they  please."     On  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  the  same 


V ;. 


Ill 
ni 


,,».,^.fl*^,— 


^  ,,i,ij«-f'i,ii.,i^-.^ 


rn 


MWTORY  OF   NEW- YORK. 


i    \ 


year,  he  informs  them,  *'  that  the  demahds,  encroach- 
ments, and  usurpations  of  the  English,  gave  the 
people  here  great  concern.  The  right  to  both 
rivers,  says  he,  by  purchase  and  possession,  is  our 
own,  without  dispute.  We  apprehend  that  they,  our 
more  powerful  neighbours,  lay  their  claims  under  a 
royal  patent,  which  we  are  unable  hitherto  to  do  in 
your  name."*  Colonel  Utie  being  unsuccessful  the 
last  year  in  his  embassy  for  the  evacuation  of  the 
Dutch  possessions  on  Delaware,  lord  Baltimore,  in 
the  autumn  of  1660,  applied  by  captain  Neal,  his 
agent,  to  the  West-India  Company,  in  Holland,  for 
an  order  on  the  inhabitants  of  South  river  to  sub- 
mit to  his  authority,  which  they  absolutely  refused, 
asserting  their  right  to  that  part  of  their  colony. 

The  English,  from  New-England,  were  every  day 
encroaching  upon  the  Dutch.  The  following  letter, 
from  Stuyvesant  to  the  West< India  Company,  dated 
July  21,  1661,  shows  the  state  of  the  colony  at 
that  time,  on  both  sides :  **  We  have  not  yet  begun 
the  fort  on  Long-Island,  near  Oysterbay,  because 
our  neighbours  lay  the  boundaries  a  mile  and  a  half 
more  westerly  than  we  do,  and  the  more  as  your 
honors,  by  your  advice  of  December  24th,  are 
not  inclined  to  stand  by  the  treaty  of  Hartford,  and 
propose  to  sue  for  redress  on  Long-Island  and  the 
Fresh  Water  river,  by  means  of  the  States'  ambas- 


=''  If  we  Bhould  arguo  from  this  letter,  that  the  Wert-India  Company  had  no 
prants  of  tlic  New-Netherlands  from  the  States  General,  as  some  suppose,  we 
discredit  De  Lact'f;  liistory,  dedicated  to  the  States  in  1624,  as  well  as  all  the 
Dutch  writers,  and  even  Stuyvesant  himself,  who,  in  his  letter  to  Richard  Nicolls, 
;it  the  surrender,  asserts,  that  they  had  a  grant,  and  showed  it  under  seal  to 
tile  English  deputies.  But  the  genuine  construction  of  the  Dutch  govemor^s 
letter,  is  this,  that  in  1660,  he  had  not  the  patent  to  the  West-India  Company,  to 
lay  before  the  English  in  America,  who  disputed  the  Dutch  ritjlit  to  this  country. 


HISTORY   OF   MiVV-YORK. 


13 


sador.  Lord  Sterling  is  said  to  solicit  a  confirma- 
tion of  his  right  to  all  Long-Island,  and  importunes 
the  present  king  to  confirm  the  grant  made  by  his 
royal  father,  which  is  affirmed  to  be  already  obtain- 
ed. But  more  probable,  and  material,  is  the  advice 
from  Maryland,  that  lord  Baltimore's  patent,  which 
contains  the  south  part  of  South  River,  is  confirmed 
by  the  king,  and  published  in  print ;  that  lord  Balti- 
more's natural  brother,  who  is  a  rigid  papist,  being 
made  governor  there,  has  received  lord  Baltimore's 
claim  and  protest  to  your  honors  in  council,  (where- 
with he  seems  but  little  satisfied,)  and  has  now  more 
hopes  of  success.  We  have  advice  from  England, 
that  there  is  an  invasion  intended  against  these  parts, 
and  the  country  solicited  of  the  king,  the  duke  and 
the  parliament,  is  to  be  annexed  to  their  dominions; 
and,  for  that  purpose,  they  desire  three  or  four 
frigates,  persuading  the  king  that  the  company 
possessed  and  held  this  country  under  an  unlawful 
title,  having  only  obtained  of  king  James  leave 
for  a  watering  place  on  Staten-Island,  in  1623." 

In  August,  1663,  a  ship  arrived  from  Holland  at 
South  river,  with  new  planters,  ammunition,  and 
implements  of  husbandry.  Lord  Baltimore's  son 
landed  a  little  after,  and  was  entertained  by  Beek- 
man  at  Niewer  Amstel.  This  was  Charles,  the  son 
of  Cecilius,  who,  in  1661,  had  procured  a  grant  and 
confirmation  of  the  patent  passed  in  favour  of  his 
father  in  1632.  The  papistical  principles  of  the 
Baltimore  family,  the  charge  of  colonizing,  the  par- 
liamentary war  with  Charles  I.  and  Oliver's  usurpa- 
tion, all  conspired  to  impede  the  settlement  of  Ma- 
ryland, till  the  year  1661;  and  these  considerations 


I  "I 


14 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


account  for  the  extension  of  the  Dutch  limits  on 
the  west  side  of  Delaware  bay. 

While  the  Dutch  were  contending  with  their  Eu- 
ropean neighbours,  they  had  the  art  always  to  main- 
tain a  friendship  with  the  natives,  until  the  war 
which  broke  out  this  year  with  the  Indians  at  Esopus, 
now  Ulster  county.  It  continued,  however,  but  a 
short  season.  The  Five  Nations  never  gave  them 
any  disturbance,  which  was  owing  to  their  continual 
wars  with  the  French,  who  settled  at  Canada  in 
1603.  I  have  before  observed,  that  Oliver  Crom- 
well was  applied  to  for  his  aid  in  the  reduction  of 
this  country,  and  that  his  son  Richard  took  some 
steps  towards  accomplishing  the  scheme ;  the  work 
was  however  reserved  for  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
an  indolent  prince,  and  entirely  given  up  to  pleasure, 
who  was  driven  to  it,  more  perhaps  by  the  diffei'en- 
ccs  then  subsisting  between  England  and  Holland, 
than  by  any  motWe  that  might  reflect  honor  upon  his 
prudence,  activity,  and  public  spirit.  Before  this 
expedition,  the  king  granted  a  patent  on  the  twelfth 
of  March,  1664,  to  his  brother  the  duke  of  York  and 
Albany,  for  sundry  tracts  of  land  in  America,  the 
boundaries  of  which,  because  they  have  given  rise 
to  important  and  animated  debates,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  transcribe : 

"AH  that  part  of  the  main  land  of  New-England, 
beginning  at  a  certain  place,  called  or  known  by  the 
name  of  St.  Croix,  next  adjoining  to  New  Scotland, 
in  America,  and  from  thence  extending  along  the 
sea-coast,  unto  a  certain  place  called  Pemaquie,  or 
Pemequid,  and  so  up  the  river  thereof,  to  the  fur- 
thest head  of  the  same,  as  it  tendeth  northward ; 


"^arif;.-; 


UiSTOKY    OF   NEW-YORK. 


15 


extending  from  thence  to  the  river  of  Kimbequio, 
and  so  upwards,  by  the  shortest  course,  to  the  river 
Canada,  northward ;  and  also  all  that  island,  or 
islands,  commonly  called  by  the  several  name  or 
names  of  Meitewacks,  or  Long-Island,  situate  and 
being  towards  the  west  of  Cape  Cod  and  the  narrow 
Higansetts,  abutting  upon  the  main  land  between 
the  two  rivers  there  called  or  known  by  the  several 
names  of  Connecticut  and  Hudson's  river,  together 
also  with  the  said  river  called  Hudson's  river,  and  all 
the  land  from  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  river  to 
the  east  side  of  Delaware  bay,  and  also  all  those 
several  islands,  called  or  known  by  the  names  of 
Martin's  vineyard,  or  Nantuck's,  or  otherwise  Nan- 
tucket: together,  &c." 

Part  of  this  tract  was  conveyed  by  the  duke  to 
John  lord  Berkley,  baron  of  Stratton,  and  Sir  George 
Carteret,  of  Saltrum  in  Devon,  who  were  then  mem- 
bers of  the  king's  council.  The  lease  was  for  the 
consideration  often  shillings,  and  dated  the  twenty- 
third  of  June,  1664.  The  re-lease,  dated  the  next 
day,  mentions  no  particular  sum  of  money,  as  a 
consideration  for  the  grant  of  the  lands,  which  have 
the  following  description : 

"  All  that  tract  of  land,  adjacent  to  New-England, 
and  lying  and  being  to  the  westward  of  Long-Island, 
and  bounded  on  the  east  part  by  the  main  sea  and 
partly  by  Hudson's  river ;  and  hath  upon  the  west 
Delaware  bay  or  river,  and  extendeth  southward 
to  the  main  as  far  as  Cape  May,  at  the  mouth 
of  Delaware  bay:  and  to  the  northward,  as  far 
as  the  northernmost  branch  of  the  said  bay  or 
river  of  Delaware,  which  is  forty-one  degrees  and 


I ; 


16 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


;»;• 


forty  minutes  of  latitude :  which  said  tract  of  land 
is  hereafter  to  be  called  by  the  name  or  names  of 
Nova  CflBsarea,  or  New-Jersey." 

The  New- Netherlands  became  divided  into  New- 
Jersey,  so  called  after  the  isle  of  Jersey,  in  compli- 
ment to  Sir  George  Carteret,  whose  family  camo 
from  thence ;  and  New- York,  which  took  its  name 
in  honour  of  the  duke  of  York. 

The  Dutch  inhabitants,  by  the  vigilance  of  their 
governor,  were  not  unapprised  of  the  designs  of  the 
English  court  against  them,  for  their  records  testify 
that  on  the  eighth  of  July,  "  the  general  received 
intelligence  from  one  Thomas  Willet,  an  English- 
man, that  an  expedition  was  preparing  in  England 
against  this  place,  consisting  of  two  frigates  of  forty 
and  fifty  guns,  and  a  fly  boat  of  forty  guns,  having 
on  board  three  hundred  soldiers,  and  each  frigate 
one  hundred  and  iifly  men,  and  that  they  then  lay 
at  Portsmouth  waiting  for  a  wind."  News  arrived 
also  from  Boston,  that  they  had  already  set  sail.  — 
The  burgomasters  were  thereupon  called  into  coun- 
cil; the  fortress  ordered  to  be  put  into  a  posture 
of  defence ;  and  spies  sent  to  Milford  and  West- 
chester for  intelligence.  Boston  was  in  the  secret 
of  the  expedition,  for  the  general  court  had,  in  May 
preceding,  passed  a  vote  for  a  supply  of  provisions, 
towards  refreshing  the  ships  on  their  arrival.  They 
were  four  in  number,  and  resolved  to  rendezvous  at 
Gardener's  Island  in  the  sound,  but  parted  in  a  fog 
about  the  twentieth  of  July.  Richard  Nicolls  and 
Sir  George  Carteret,  two  of  the  commissioners,  were 
on  board  the  Guyny,  and  fell  in  first  with  Cape  Cod. 
The  winds  having  blown  from  the  south-west,  the 


•p 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


17 


other  ships,  with  sir  Robert  Carr  and  Mr.  Maverick, 
the  remaining  commissioners,  were  rightly  conclud- 
ed to  be  driven  to  the  eastward.  After  despatching 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Winthrop,  the  governor  of  Connecti- 
cut, requesting  his  assistance,  colonel  Nicolls  pro- 
ceeded to  Nantasket,  and  thence  to  Boston.  The 
other  ships  got  into  Piscataway.  John  Endicot,  a 
very  old  man,  was  then  governor  of  Boston,  and  in- 
capable of  business.  The  commissioners,  therefore, 
had  a  conference  with  the  council,  and  earnestly  im- 
plored the  assistance  of  that  colony.  Colonel  Nicolls 
and  Sir  George  Carteret,  in  their  letter  from  Boston, 
to  Sir  H.  Bennet,  secretary  of  state,  complain  much 
of  the  backwardness  of  that  province.  The  reasons 
urged  in  their  excuse,  were  poverty  and  the  season, 
it  being  the  time  of  harvest ;  but  perhaps  disaffec- 
tion to  the  Stuart  family,  whose  persecuting  fury  had 
driven  them  from  their  native  country,  was  the  true 
spring  of  their  conduct.  The  king's  success  in  the 
reduction  of  the  Dutch,  evidently  opened  him  a  door, 
to  come  at  his  enemies  in  New-England,  who  were 
far  from  being  few  ;*  and  whether  this  considera- 
tion might  not  have  given  rise  to  the  project  itself,  I 
leave  to  the  conjectures  of  others. 

On  the  27th  of  July,  Nicolls  and  Carteret  made  a 
formal  request  in  writing.  "  That  the  government 
of  Boston  would  pass  an  Act  to  furnish  them  with 

*  T.  Dixwel,  Esq.  one  of  Charles  I.'s  judges,  and  excepted  out  of  the  general 
pardon,  lived  many  years  at  New-Haven,  (incog.)  in  quality  of  a  country  mer- 
chant :  Sir  Edmond  Andross,  in  one  of  his  tours  llirough  the  colony  of  Con- 
necticut, saw  him  there  at  church,  and  strongly  suspected  him  to  be  one  of  the 
regicides.  In  his  last  ilhicss,  he  revealed  himself  to  the  minister  of  the  town, 
and  ordered  a  small  stone  to  be  set  at  the  head  of  his  grave,  which  I  have  otton 
Boen  there,  inscribed,  T.  D.  Esq.  While  at  New-Haven,  ho  went  under  the 
name  of  John  Davis. 

VOL.  I. — 3 


fi 


\ ' 


I      iM 


-*<*«««* 


iV 


18 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


V.     i 


armed  men,  who  should  begin  their  march  to  the 
Manhattans,  on  the  twentieth  of  August  ensuing,  and 
promised,  that  if  they  could  get  other  assistance, 
they  would  give  them  an  account  of  it."  The  gover- 
nor and  council  answered,  that  they  would  assem- 
ble the  general  court,  and  communicate  the  proposal 
to  them. 

From  Boston,  a  second  letter  was  written  to  gov- 
ernor Winthrop,  in  Connecticut,  dated  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  July,  in  which  he  was  informed,  that  the 
other  ships  were  then  arrived,  and  would  sail  with 
the  first  fair  wind,  and  he  was  desired  to  meet  them 
at  the  west  end  of  Long-Island. 

One  of  the  ships  entered  the  bay  of  the  North  River 
several  days  before  the  rest ;  and  as  soon  as  they 
were  all  come  up,  Stuyvesant  sent  a  letter  dated 
the  19th-30th  of  August,  at  fort  Anill,  directed  to 
the  commanders  of  the  English  frigates,  by  John 
Declyer,  one  of  the  chief  council ;  the  Rev.  John  Me- 
gapolensis,  minister  ;  Paul  Lunder  Vander  Grilft, 
Major ;  and  Mr.  Samuel  Mcgapolensis,  doctor  in  phy- 
sic, with  the  utmost  civility,  to  desire  the  reason  of 
their  approach,  and  continuing  in  the  harbor  of  the 
Naijarlij,  without  giving  notice  to  the  Dutch,  which 
(he  writes)  they  ought  to  have  done.  Colonel  Nicolls 
answered  the  next  day  with  a  summons  : 
**To  the  honourable  the  Governors  and  Chief  Council 
at  the  Manhattans. 

"  Right  worthy  Sirs :  I  received  a  letter  by  some 
worthy  persons  intrusted  by  you.,  bearing  date  the 
19th-30th  of  August,  desiring  to  know  the  intent  of 
the  approach  of  the  English  frigates;  in  return  of 
which,  I  think  it  fit  to  let  you  know,  that  his  majesty 


ff 


HISTORY   OF    NF.W-YOUK. 


10 


of  Great  Britain,  whoso  right  and  title  to  these  parts 
of  America  is  unquestionable,  well  knowing  how 
much  it  derogates  from  his  crown  and  dignity,  to  suf- 
fer any  foreigners,  how  nearsoever  they  be  allied,  to 
usurp  a  dominion,  and,  without  his  majesty's  royal 
consent,  to  inhabit  in  these  or  any  other  of  his  majes- 
ty's territories,  hath  commanded  me,  in  his  name,  to 
require  a  surrender  of  all  such  forts,  towns,  or  places 
of  strength,  which  are  now  possessed  by  the  Dutch, 
under  your  commands  ;  and  in  his  majesty's  name,  I 
do  demand  the  town,  situate  on  the  island,  common- 
ly known  by  the  name  of  Manhatoes,  with  all  the 
forts  thereunto  belonging,  to  be  rendered  unto  his 
majesty's  obedience  and  protection,  into  my  hands. 
I  am  further  commanded  to  assure  you,  and  every 
respective  inhabitant  of  the  Dutch  nation,  that  his 
majesty  being  tenaer  of  the  effusion  of  christian  blood, 
doth  by  these  presents,  confirm  and  secure  to  every 
man  his  estate,  life  and  liberty,  who  shall  readily 
submit  to  his  government.  And  all  those  who  shall 
oppose  his  majesty's  gracious  intention,  must  expect 
all  the  miseries  of  a  war,  which  they  bring  upon 
themselves.  I  shall  expect  your  answer  by  these 
gentlemen,  colonel  George  Carteret,  one  of  his  ma- 
jesty's commissioners  in  America ;  captain  Robert 
Needham,  captain  Edward  Groves,  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Delavall,  whom  you  will  entertain  with  such  civility 
as  is  due  to  them,  and  yourselves,  and  yours  shall 
receive  the  same,  from,  worthy  sirs, 

Your  very  humble  servant, 

RICHARD  NICOLLS. 

Dated  on  board  his  majesty^s  ship,  the  Gxtyny, 
riding  before  Nayrh,  Angwt  20-31 ,  1664." 


:;2^<~«-.t 


'  -  '^jy.vujBvJik,,^',^ 


I 


20 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


'      / 


i    i 


n 


Mr.  Stuyvesant  promised  an  answer  to  the  sum- 
mons the  next  morning,  and  in  the  mean  time  con- 
vened the  council  and  burgomasters.  The  Dutch 
governor  was  a  good  soldier,  and  had  lost  a  leg  in 
the  service  of  the  States.  He  would  willingly  have 
made  a  defence  ;  and  refused  a  sight  of  the  sum- 
mons, both  to  the  inhabitants  and  burgomasters,  lest 
the  easy  terms  offered,  might  induce  them  to  capitu- 
late. The  latter,  however,  insisted  upon  a  copy, 
that  they  might  communicate  it  to  the  late  magistrates 
and  principal  burghers.  They  called  together  the 
inhabitants  at  the  Btadt-PIouse,  and  acquainted  them 
with  the  governor's  refusal.  Governor  Winthrop  at 
the  same  time  wrote  to  the  director  and  his  coun- 
cil, strongly  recommending  a  surrender.  On  the 
twenty-second  of  August,  the  burgomasters  came 
again  into  council,  and  desired  to  know  the  contents 
of  the  English  message  from  governor  Winthrop, 
which  Stuyvesant  still  refused.  They  continued 
their  importunity ;  and  he,  in  a  fit  of  anger,  tore  it  to 
pieces  :  upon  which,  they  protested  against  the  act, 
and  all  its  consequences.  Determined  upon  a  de- 
fence of  the  country,  Stuyvesant  wrote  a  letter  in 
answer  to  the  summons,  which,  as  it  is  historical  of 
the  Dutch  claim,  will  doubtless  be  acceptable  to  the 
reader.  The  following  is  an  exact  transcript  of  the 
record : 

"  My  lords :  Your  first  letter,  unsigned,  of  the 
20-3 1st  of  August,  together  with  that  of  this  day, 
signed  according  to  form,  being  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber, have  been  safely  delivered  into  our  hands  by 
your  deputies,  unto  which  we  shall  say,  that  the  rights 
of  his  majestic  of  England,  unto  any  part  of  America 


HISTORY   OF   NIAV-YORK. 


21 


here  about,  amongst  the  rest,  unto  the  colonies 
of  Virginia,  Maryland,  or  otiiors  in  New-England, 
whether  disputable  or  not,  is  that  which,  for  the  pre- 
sent, we  have  no  design  to  debate  upon.  But  that 
his  majestic  hath  an  indisi)utablo  right  to  all  the 
lands  in  the  north  parts  ot' A  inerica,  is  that  which  the 
kings  of  France  and  Spain  will  disallow,  as  we  abso- 
lutely do,  by  virtue  of  a  commission  given  to  me,  by 
my  lords,  the  high  and  mighty  States  General,  to  be 
governor-general,  over  New-Holland,  the  isles  of 
Curacoa,  Bonaire,  Aruba,  with  their  appurtenances 
and  dependancies,  bearing  date  the  twenty-sixth  of 
July,  1646.  As  also  by  virtue  of  a  grant  and  com- 
mission, given  by  my  said  lords,  the  high  and  mighty 
States  General,  to  the  West-India  Company,  in  the 
year  1621,  with  as  much  power  and  as  authentic,  as 
his  said  majestie  of  England  hath  given,  or  can  give, 
to  any  colony  in  America,  as  more  fully  appears  by 
the  patent  and  commission  of  the  said  lords  the  States 
General,  by  them  signed,  registered,  and  sealed  with 
their  great  seal,  which  were  showed  to  your  deputyes, 
colonel  George  Carteret,  captain  Robert  Needham, 
captain  Edward  Groves,  and  Mr.  Thomas Delavall ; 
by  which  commission  and  patent  together,  (to  deal 
frankly  with  you,)  and  by  divers  letters,  signed  and 
sealed  by  our  said  lords,  the  States  General,  directed 
to  several  persons,  both  English  and  Dutch,  inhab- 
iting the  towns  and  villages  on  Long-Island,  (which, 
without  doubt,  have  been  produced  before  you,  by 
those  inhabitants,)  by  which  they  are  declared  and 
acknowledged  to  be  their  subjects,  with  express  com- 
mand, that  they  continue  faithful  unto  them,  under 
penalty  of  incurring  their  utmost  displeasure,  which 


f 


h 


11 


»iu,' 


22 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


';.  ( 


IW  i 


makes  it  appear  more  clear  than  the  sun  at  noon- 
day, that  your  first  foundation,  (viz.  that  the  right  and 
title  of  his  majestie  of  Great  Britain,  to  these  parts  of 
America  is  unquestionable,)  is  absolutely  to  be  de- 
nied. Moreover,  it  is  without  dispute,  and  acknow- 
ledged by  the  world,  that  our  predecessors,  by  virtue 
of  the  commission  and  patent  of  the  said  lords,  the 
States  General,  have  without  control,  and  peaceably 
(the  contrary  never  coming  to  our  knowledge)  enjoy- 
ed Fort  Orange  about  forty -eight  or  fifty  years,  the 
Manhattans  about  forty-one  or  forty-two  years,  the 
South  River  forty  years,  and  the  Fresh  Water  River 
about  thirty-six  years.  Touching  the  second  subject 
of  your  letter,  (viz.  his  majestie  hath  commanded 
me,  in  his  name,  to  require  a  surrender  of  all  such 
forts,  towns,  or  places  of  strength,  which  now  are 
possessed  by  the  Dutch  under  your  command).  We 
shall  answer,  that  we  are  so  confident  of  the  discre- 
tion and  equity  of  his  majestie  of  Great  Britain,  that 
in  case  his  majestie  were  informed  of  the  truth,  which 
is,  that  the  Dutch  came  not  into  these  provinces,  by 
any  violence,  but  by  virtue  of  commissions  from  my 
■  lords,  the  States  General,  first  of  all  in  the  years 
1614,  J615,  and  1616,  up  the  North  River,  near 
Fort  Orange,  where,  to  hinder  the  invasions  and 
massacres,  commonly  committed  by  the  savages, 
they  built  a  little  fort ;  and  after,  in  the  year  1622, 
and  even  to  this  present  time,  by  virtue  of  com- 
mission and  grant,  to  the  governors  of  the  West- 
India  Company ;  and  moreover,  in  the  year  1656, 
a  grant  to  the  honourable  the  burgomasters  of 
Amsterdam,  of  the  South  River ;  insomuch,  that  by 
virtue  of  the  above  said  commissions  from  the  high 


•^, 


""^  m.m^t^^^' 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


23 


and  mighty  States  General,  given  to  the  persons 
interested  as  aforesaid,  and  others,  these  provinces 
have  been  governed,  and  consequently  enjoyed,  as 
also  in  regard  of  their  first  discovery,  uninterrupted 
possessions,  and  purchase  of  the  lands  of  the  princes, 
natives  of  the  country,  and  other  private  persons 
(though  Gentiles),  we  make  no  doubt  that  if  his  said 
majestic  of  Great  Britain  were  well  informed  of  these 
passages,  he  would  be  too  judicious  to  grant  such 
an  order,  principally  in  a  time  when  there  is  so 
straight  a  friendship  and  confederacy,  between  our 
said    lords  and  superiors,    to  trouble  us  in  the 
demanding  and  summons  of  the  places  and  for- 
tresses, which  were  put  into  our  hands,  with  order 
to  maintain  them,  in  the  name  of  the  said  lords,  the 
States  General,  as  was  made  appear  to  your  depu- 
tyes,  under  the  names  and  seal  of  the  said  high  and 
mighty  States  General,  dated  July  28, 1C46.  Besides 
what  had  been  mentioned,  there  is  little  probability 
that  his  said  majestic  of  England  (in  regard  the  arti- 
cles of  peace  are  printed,  and  were  recommended  to 
us  to  observe  seriously  and  exactly,  by  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  us  by  our  said  lords,  the  States  General,  and 
to  cause  them  to  be  observed  religiously  in  this  coun- 
try) would  give  order  touching  so  dangerous  a  design, 
being  also  so  apparent,  that  none  other  than  my 
said  lords,  the  States  General,  have  any  right  to 
these  provinces,  and  consequently,  ought  to  com- 
mand and  maintain  their  subjects ;  and  in  their  ab- 
sence, we,  the  governor-general,  are  obliged  to  main- 
tain their  rights,  and  to  repel  and  take  revenge  of 
all  threatenings,  unjust  attempts,  or  any  force  what- 
soever, that  shall  be  committed  against  their  faithful 


^y.-^  J.,  "t.i.y 


24 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


' 


'<ii 


W 


subjects  and  inhabitants,  it  being  a  very  considera- 
ble thing,  to  affront  so  mighty  a  state,  although  it 
were  not  against  an  ally  and  confederate.    Conse- 
quently, if  his  said  majestie  (as  it  is  fit)  were  welk 
informed  of  all  that  could  be  spoken  upon  this  sub- 
ject, he  would  not  approve  of  what  expressions  were 
mentioned  in  your  letter ;  which  are,  that  you  are 
commanded  by  his  majestie,  to  demand  in  his  name, 
such  places  and  fortresses  as  are  in  the  possession 
of  the  Dutch  under  my  government ;  which,  as  it 
appears  by  my  commission  before  mentioned,  was 
given  me  by  my  lords,  the  high  and  mighty  States 
General.    And  there  is  less  ground  in  the  express 
demand   of  my  government,  since  all  the  world 
knows,  that  about  three  years  agone,  some  Eng-- 
lish  frigotts  being  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  upon  a 
pretended  commission,   they  did  demand  certain 
places  under  the  government  of  our  said  lords,  the 
States  General,  as  Cape  Vert,  river  of  Gambo,  and 
all  other  places  in  Guyny,  to  them  belonging.  Upon 
which,  our  said  lords,  the  States  General,  by  virtue 
of  the  articles  of  peace,  having  made  appear  the  said 
attempt  to  his  majestie  of  England,  they  received  a 
favourable  answer,  his  said  majestie  disallowing  all 
Buch  acts  of  hostility  as  might  have  been  done,  and 
besides,  gave  order  that  restitution  should  be  made 
to  the  East-India  Company,  of  whatsoever  had  been 
pillaged  in  the  said  river  of  Gambo ;  and  likewise 
restored  them  to  their  trade,  which  makes  us  think 
it  necessary  that  a  more  express  order  should  appear 
unto  us,  as  a  sufficient  warrant  for  us,  towards  my 
lords,  the  high  and  mighty  States  General,  since  by 
virtue  of  our  said  commission,  we  do  in  these  pro- 


(B  ^ 


n 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


25 


vinces,  represent  them,  as  belonging  to  them,  and 
not  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  except  his  said 
majestie,  upon  better  grounds,  make  it  appear  to 
our  said  lords,  the  States  General,  against  which 
they  may  defend  themselves  as  they  shall  think  fit. 
To  conclude :  we  cannot  but  declare  unto  you, 
though  the  governors  and  commissioners  of  his 
majestie  have  divers  times  quarrelled  with  us  about 
the  bounds  of  the   jurisdiction  of  the  high  and 
mighty  the  States  General,  in  these  parts,  yet  they 
never  questioned  their  jurisdiction  itself;  on  the  con- 
trary, in  the  year  1650,  at  Hartford,  and  the  last  year 
at  Boston,  they  treated  with  us  upon  this  subject, 
which  is  a  sufficient  proof  that  his  majestie  hath 
never  been  well  informed  of  the  equity  of  our  cause, 
insomuch  as  we  cannot  imagine,  in  regard  of  the 
articles  of  peace  between  the  crown  of  England  and 
the  States  General,  (under  whom  there  are  so  many 
subjects  in  America  as  well  as  Europe,)  that  his 
said  majestie  of  Great  Britain  would  give  a  commis- 
sion to  molest  and  endamage  the  subjects  of  my 
said  lords,  the  States  General,  especially  such,  as 
ever  since  fifty,  forty,  and  the  latest  thirty-six  years, 
have  quietly  enjoyed  their  lands,  countries,  forts, 
and  inheritances ;  and  less,  that  his  subjects  would 
attempt  any  acts  of  hostility  or  violence  against 
them :  and  in  case  that  you  will  act  by  force  of  arms, 
we  protest  and  declare,  in  the  name  of  oui  said 
lords,  the  States  General,  before  God  and  men,  that 
you  will  act  an  unjust  violence,  and  a  breach  of  the 
articles  of  peace,  so  solemnly  sworn,  agreed  upon, 
and  ratified  by  his  majestie  of  England,  and  my 

VOL.  i.^ 


■Hi 


26 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


V 


lords,  the  States  General,  and  the  rather,  for  that 
to  prevent  the  shedding  of  blood,  in  the  month  of 
February  last,  we  treated  with  Captain  John  Scott, 
(who  reported  he  had  a  commission  from  his  said 
majestic,)  touching  the  limits  of  Long-Island,  and 
concluded  for  the  space  of  a  year ;  that  in  the  mean 
time,  the  business  might  be  treated  on  between  the 
king  of  Great  Britain  and  my  lords,  the  high  and 
mighty  States  General :  and  again,  at  present,  for 
the  hindrance  and  prevention  of  all  differences,  and 
the  spilling  of  innocent  blood,  not  only  in  these 
parts,  but  also  in  Europe,  we  offer  unto  you,  a  treaty 
by  our  deputyes,  Mr.  Cornelius  Van  Ruyven,  secre- 
tary and  receiver  of  New-Holland,  Cornelius  Steen- 
wick,  burgomaster,  Mr.  Samuel  Megapolensis,  doc- 
tor of  physic,  and  Mr.  James  Cousseau,  heretofore 
sheriff.  As  touching  the  threats  in  your  conclusion, 
we  have  nothing  to  answer,  only  that  we  fear  nothing 
but  what  God  (who  is  as  just  as  merciful,)  shall  lay 
upon  us ;  all  things  being  in  his  gracious  disposal], 
and  we  may  as  well  be  preserved  by  him  with  small 
forces  as  by  a  great  army,  which  makes  us  to  wish 
you  all  happiness  and  prosperity,  and  recommend 
you  to  his  protection.  My  lords,  your  thrice  humble 
and  affectionate  servant  and  friend,  signed  P.  Stuy- 
vesant. — At  the  fort  at  Amsterdam,  the  second  of 
September,  new  stile,  1664." 

While  the  Dutch  governor  and  council  were  con- 
tending with  the  burgomasters  and  people  in  the 
city,  the  English  commissioners  published  a  procla- 
mation^ in  the  country,  encouraging  the  inhabitants 


■i 


i^ 


*  See  Note  £. 


«.<itfl(. 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


27 


to  submit,  and  promising  them  the  king's  protection, 
and  all  the  privileges  of  subjects ;  and  as  soon  as 
they  discovered  by  Stuyvesant's  letter,  that  he  was 
averse  to  the  surrender,  officers  were  sent  to  beat  up 
for  volunteers  in  Middleborough,  Ulisson,  Jamaica, 
and  Hempstead.  A  warrant  was  also  issued  to  Hugh 
Hide,  who  commanded  the  squadron,  to  prosecute 
the  reduction  of  the  fort ;  and  an  English  ship  then 
trading  here  was  pressed  into  the  service.  These 
preparations  induced  Stuyvesant  to  write  another 
letter,  on  the  25l  of  August,  old  style,  wherein, 
though  he  declares  that  he  would  stand  the  storm, 
yet  to  prevent  the  spilling  of  blood,  he  had  sent  John 
De  Decker,  counsellor  ofstate,  Cornelius  Van  Riven, 
secretary  and  receiver,  Cornelius  Steenwyck,  major, 
and  James  Cousseau,  sheriff,  to  consult,  if  possible, 
an  accommodation.  Nicolls,  who  knew  the  dis- 
position of  the  people,  answered  immediately  from 
Gravesend,  that  he  would  treat  about  nothing  but  a 
surrender.  The  Dutch  governor,  the  next  day, 
agreed  to  a  treaty  and  surrender,  on  condition  the 
English  and  Dutch  limits  in  America,  were  settled 
by  the  crown  and  the  States  General.  The  English 
deputies  were  Sir  Robert  Carr,  George  Carteret, 
John  Winthrop,  governor  of  Connecticut,  Samuel 
Willys,  one  of  the  assistants  or  council  of  that 
colony,  and  Thomas  Clarke  and  John  Pynchon, 
commissioners  from  the  general  court  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay,  who,  but  a  little  before,  brought  an 
aid  from  that  province.  What  these  persons  agreed 
upon,  Nicolls  promised  to  ratify.  At  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  August,  1664,  the 
commissioners,  on  both  sides,  mefat  the  Governor's 


)! 


I- 


li 


k     ••      ■■••W«»<'.  ':?#**•*'•*•- 


i^^i 


26 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


Farm,  and  there  signed  the  following  articles  of 
capitulation : 

"  These  articles  following  were  consented  to  by 
the  persons  here-under  subscribed,  at  the 
Governor's  Bowery,  August  the  27th,  old  style, 
1664. 


■  i 


"I.  We  consent,  that  the  States  General,  or 
the  West-India  Company,  shall  freely  injoy  all 
farms  and  houses  (except  such  as  are  in  the  forts) 
and  that  within  six  months,  they  shall  have  free 
liberty  to  transport  all  such  arms  and  ammunition, 
as  now  does  belong  to  them,  or  else  they  shall  be 
paid  for  them. 

"  II.  All  publique-houses  shall  continue  for  the 
uses  which  they  are  for. 

"  III.  All  people  shall  still  continue  free  denizens, 
and  shall  injoy  their  lands,  houses,  goods,  where- 
soever they  are  within  this  country,  and  dispose  of 
them  as  they  please. 

"IV.  If  any  inhabitant  have  a  mind  to  remove 
himself,  he  shall  have  a  year  and  six  weeks  from 
this  day,  to  remove  himself,  wife,  children,  servants, 
£;oods,  and  to  dispose  of  his  lands  here. 

"  V.  If  any  officer  of  state,  or  publique  minister  of 
state,  have  a  mind  to  go  for  England,  they  shall  be 
transported  fraught  free,  in  his  Majesty's  frigotts, 
when  these  frigotts  shall  return  thither. 

"VI.  It  is  consented  to,  that  any  people  may 
freely  come  from  the  Netherlands,  and  plant  in  this 
colony,  and  that  Dutch  vessels  may  freely  come 
hither,  and  any  of  the  Dutch  may  freely  return 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


89 


home,  or  send  any  sort  of  merchandise  home,  in 
vessels  of  their  own  country. 

"  VII.  All  ships  from  the  Netherlands,  or  any 
other  place,  and  goods  therein,  shall  be  received 
here,  and  sent  hence,  after  the  manner  which 
formerly  they  were  before  our  coming  hither,  for 
six  months  next  ensuing. 

«  VIII.  The  Dutch  here  shall  injoy  the  liberty 
of  their  consciences  in  divine  worship  and  church 
discipline. 

"  IX.  No  Dutchman  here,  or  Dutch  ship  here, 
shall  upon  any  occasion,  be  pressc  to  serve  in  war 
against  any  nation  whatsoever. 

"  X.  That  the  townsmen  of  the  Manhattans, 
shall  not  have  any  soldiers  quartered  upon  them, 
without  being  satisfied  and  paid  for  them  by  their 
officers,  and  that  at  this  present,  if  the  fort  be  not 
capable  of  lodging  all  the  soldiers,  ther  the  burgo- 
masters, by  their  officers,  shall  appoint  some  houses 
capable  to  receive  them. 

"  XI.  The  Dutch  here  shall  injoy  their  own  cus- 
toms concerning  their  inheritances. 

"  XII.  All  publique  writings  and  records,  which 
concern  the  inheritances  of  any  people,  or  the  regle- 
ment  of  the  church  or  poor,  or  orphans,  shall  be 
carefully  kept  by  those  in  whose  hands  now  they 
are,  and  such  writings  as  particularly  concern  the 
States  General,  may  at  any  time  be  sent  to  them. 

"XIII.  No  judgment  that  has  passed  any  judica- 
ture here,  shall  be  called  in  question,  but  if  any 
conceive  that  he  hath  not  had  justice  done  him,  if  he 
apply  himself  to  the  States  General,  the  other  party 
shall  be  bound  to  answer  for  the  supposed  injury. 


% 

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30 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


1   < 


"XIV.  If  any  Dutch  living  here  shall  at  any 
time  desire  to  travaile  or  traffique  into  England,  or 
any  place,  or  plantation,  in  obedience  to  his  majesty 
of  England,  or  with  the  Indians,  he  shall  have  (upon 
his  request  to  the  governor)  a  certificate  that  he  is  a 
free  denizen  of  this  place,  and  liberty  to  do  so. 

"  XV.  If  it  do  appeare,  that  there  is  a  publique 
engagement  of  debt,  by  the  town  of  the  Manhatoes, 
and  a  way  agreed  on  for  the  satisfying  of  that 
engagement,  it  is  agreed,  that  the  same  way  pro- 
posed shall  go  on,  and  that  the  engagement  shall 
be  satisfied. 

"  XVI.  All  inferior  civil  officers  and  magistrates 
shall  continue  as  now  they  are,  (if  they  please,)  till 
the  customary  time  of  new  elections,  and  then  new 
ones  to  be  chosen  by  themselves,  provided  that  such 
new  chosen  magistrates  shall  take  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  his  majesty  of  England  before  they  enter 
upon  their  office. 

"  XVII.  All  differences  of  contracts  and  bargains 
made  before  this  day,  by  any  in  this  country,  shall 
be  determined  according  to  the  manner  of  the 
Dutch. 

"  XVIII.  If  it  do  appeare,  that  the  West-India 
Company  of  Amsterdam,  do  really  owe  any  sums  of 
money  to  any  persons  here,  it  is  agreed  that  recog- 
nition and  other  duties  payable  by  ships  going 
for  the  Netherlands,  be  continued  for  six  months 
longer. 

"  XIX.  The  officers  military,  and  soldiers,  shall 
march  out  with  their  arms,  drums  beating,  and  cou- 
lours  flying,  and  lighted  matches ;  and  if  any  of 
them  will  plant,  they  shall  have  fifty  acres  of  land 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


81 


n 


set  out  for  them ;  if  any  of  them  will  serve  as  ser- 
vants, they  shall  continue  with  all  safety,  and  be- 
come free  denizens  afterwards. 

"  XX.  If,  at  any  time  hereafter,  the  king  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  States  of  the  NfcVi.orland  do 
agree  that  this  place  and  country  be  re-delivered 
into  the  hands  of  the  said  States,  whensoever  his 
majestie  will  send  his  commands  to  re-deliver  it, 
it  shall  immediately  be  done. 

"  XXI.  That  the  town  of  Manhattans  shall  choose 
deputyes,  and  those  deputyes  shall  have  free  voyces 
in  all  publique  affairs,  as  much  as  any  other  deputyes. 

"XXII.  Those  who  have  any  property  in  any 
houses  in  the  fort  of  Aurania,  shall  (if  they  please) 
slight  the  fortifications  there,  and  then  enjoy  all 
their  houses  as  all  people  do  where  there  is  no  fort. 

"  XXIII.  If  there  be  any  soldiers  that  will  go  into 
Holland,  and  if  the  Company  of  West-India  in  Am- 
sterdam, or  any  private  persons  here  will  transport 
them  into  Holland,  then  they  shall  have  a  safe  pass- 
port from  colonel  Richard  Nicolls,  deputy-governor 
under  his  royal  highness,  and  the  other  commission- 
ers, to  defend  the  ships  that  shall  transport  such 
soldiers,  and  all  the  goods  in  them,  from  any  sur- 
prizal  or  acts  of  hostility,  to  be  done  by  any  of  his 
majestie's  ships  or  subjects.  That  the  copies  of  the 
king's  grant  to  his  royal  highness,  and  the  copy  of 
his  royal  highness's  commission  to  colonel  Richard 
Nicolls,  testified  by  two  commissioners  more,  and 
Mr.  Winthrop,  to  be  true  copies,  shall  be  delivered 
to  the  honourable  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  the  present  go- 
vernor, on  Monday  next,  by  eight  of  the  clock  in 
the  morning,  at  the  Old  Miln,  and  these  articles 


■  ( 


II 


Mi 


l.?*^r:; 


a 


33 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


consented  to,  and  signed  by  colonel  Richard  Nicolls, 
deputy-governor  to  his  royal  highness,  and  that 
within  two  hours  aflter  the  fort  and  town  called  New- 
Amsterdam,  upon  the  isle  of  Manhatoes,  shall  be 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  said  colonel  Richard 
NicoUs,  by  the  service  of  such  as  shall  be  by  him 
thereunto  deputed,  by  his  hand  and  seal. 


John  De  Decker. 
NicH.  Verleett. 
Sam.  Megapolensis. 
Cornelius  Steenwick. 
Oloffe  S.  Van  Kortlant. 
James  Cousseau. 


Robert  Carr. 
Geo.  Carteret. 
John  Winthrof. 
Sam.  Willys. 
Thomas  Clarke. 
John  Pinchon. 


"  I  do  consent  to  these  articles, 

Richard  Nicolls." 


*    \ 


These  articles,  favourable  as  they  were  to  the  inha- 
bitants, were  however  very  disagreeable  to  the  Dutch 
governor,  and  he  therefore  refused  to  ratify  them, 
till  two  days  after  they  were  signed  by  the  commis- 
sioners. 

The  town  of  New- Amsterdam,  upon  the  reduction 
of  the  island  Manhattans,  took  the  name  of  New- 
York.  It  consisted  of  several  small  streets,  laid 
out  in  the  year  1656,  and  was  not  inconsiderable 
for  the  number  of  its  houses  and  inhabitants.  The 
easy  terms  of  the  capitulation,  promised  their  peace- 
able subjection  to  the  new  government,  and  hence 
we  find,  that  in  two  days  after  the  surrender,  the 
Boston  aid  was  dismissed  with  the  thanks  of  the 
commissioners  to  the  general  court.    Hudson's  and 


HISTORY    OF    AEW-YORK. 


33 


>» 


the  South  River  were,  however,  still  to  be  reduced. 
Sir  Robert  Carr  commanded  the  expedition  on  De- 
laware,and  Carteret  was  commissioned  to  subdue  the 
Dutch  at  Fort-Orange.  The  garrison  capitulated 
on  the  24th  of  September,  and  he  called  it  Albany, 
in  honour  of  the  Duke.  While  Carteret  was  here, 
he  had  an  interview  with  the  Indians  of  the  Five 
Nations,  and  entered  into  a  league  of  friendship 
with  them,  which  remarkably  continues  to  this  day.* 
Sir  Robert  Carr  was  equally  successful  on  South 
River,  for  he  compelled  both  the  Dutch  and  Swedes 
to  capitulate  and  deliver  up  their  garrisons  the  1st 
of  October,  1664  ;  and  that  was  the  day  in  which 
the  whole  New-Netherlands  became  subject  to  the 
English  crown.  Very  few  of  the  inhabitants  thought 
proper  to  remove  out  of  the  country.f  Governor 
Stuyvesant  himself  held  his  estate  and  died  here. 
His  remains  were  interred  in  a  chapel  which  ho 
had  erected  on  his  own  farm,  at  a  small  distance 
from  the  city,  now  possessed  by  his  grandson  Ge- 
rardus  Stuyvesant,  a  man  of  probity,  who  has  been 
elected  into  the  magistracy  above  thirty  years  suc- 
cessively. Justice  obliges  me  to  declare,  that  for 
loyalty  to  the  present  reigning  family,  and  a  pure 
attachment  to  the  protestant  religion,  the  descend- 
ants of  the  Dutch  planters  are  perhaps  exceeded 
by  none  of  his  majesty's  subjects. 

*  The  Dutch  were  sensible  of  tlie  importaiico  of  preserving  an  vnintcrrujited 
amity  with  those  Indians,  for  they  were  both  verj'  niimerous  and  warlike.  The 
French  pursued  quite  different  measures,  and  the  irruptions  of  those  tribes, 
according  to  their  own  authors,  have  ollen  reduced  Canada  to  the  brink  of  ruin. 

+  Sir  Robert  Carr  arrived  at  Bristol,  1st  June,  1G67,  and  died  the  next  day. 
Carteret  went  home  in  1664,  leaving  Maverick  at  Boston. — Vid.  New 
England's  Memorial,  by  Nath.  Morton,  senrefary  for  New  Plymouth,  p.  210, 
edit.l2mo.  1721. 

VOL.  I. — .5 


.■  'I- 


ii 


v>#* 


''.''*.  0fx3iM^A^£.f-ft.^r4  ' 


it!^ 


m%. 


PART  II. 


'i 


THK 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


in 


FROM  THE  8UKKENDEK  IN  1064,  TO  THE  SETTLEMENT 
AT  THE  REVOLUTION. 


'    I] 


Richard  Nicolls  being  now  possessed  of  the 
country,  took  the  government  upon  him,  under  the 
style  of"  deputy -governor  under  his  royal  highness 
the  duke  of  York,  of  all  his  territories  in  America." 
During  his  short  continuance  here,  he  passed  a  vast 
number  of  grants  and  confirm  a\s  of  the  anciei^t 
Dutch  patents,  the  profits  of  which  must  have  been 
very  considerable.  Among  these,  no  one  has 
occasioned  more  animated  contention,  than  that 
called  the  Elizabeth  Town  Grant,  in  New-Jersey ; 
which,  as  it  relates  to  another  colony,  I  should  not 
have  mentioned,  but  for  the  opportunity  to  caution 
the  reader  against  the  representation  of  that  contro- 
versy contained  in  Douglass's  Summary.  I  have 
sufficient  reasons  to  justify  my  charging  that  account 
with  partiality  and  mistakes ;  and  for  proofs,  refer 


# 


^.'BJkiil 


56 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


to  the  printed  answer  in  chancery,  published  in  the 
year  1751. 

Besides  the  chief  command  of  this  province* 
Nicolls  had  a  joint  power*  with  Sir  Robert  Carr, 
Carteret,  and  Maverick,  to  settle  the  contested 
boundaries  of  certain  great  patents.  Hence  we 
find,  that  three  of  them  had  a  conference  with 
several  gentlemen  from  Connecticut,  respecting  the 
limits  of  this  and  that  colony.  The  result  was  an 
adjudication  in  these  words  : 

'*  By  virtue  of  his  majesty's  commission,  we  have 
heard  the  difference,  about  the  bounds  of  the  patents 
granted  to  his  royal  highness  the  duke  of  York,  and 
his  majesty's  colony  of  Connecticut,  and  having 
deliberately  considered  all  the  reasons  alleged  by 
Mr.  Allyn,  sen.  Mr.  Gold,  Mr.  Richards,  and  captain 
Winthrop,  appointed  by  the  assembly  held  at  Hart- 
ford, the  13th  of  October,  1664,  to  accompany  John 
Winthrop,  esq.  the  governor  of  his  majesty's  colony 
of  Connecticut,  to  New- York,  and  to  agree  upon  the 
bounds  of  the  said  colony,  why  the  said  Long  Island 
should  be  under  the  government  of  Connecticut, 
which  are  too  long  here  to  be  recited,  we  do  declare 
and  order,  that  the  southern  bounds  of  his  majesty's 
colony  of  Connecticut,  is  the  sea,  and  that  Long 
Island  is  to  be  under  the  government  of  his  royal 
highness  the  duke  of  York,  as  is  expressed  by  plain 


*  The  comraiBsion  from  king  Charles  II.  was  dated  26tli  of  April,  1664.  After 
a  recitw.  of  disputes  concerning  linnits  in  Ncw-England,  and  that  addresses  had 
buen  sent  homo  from  the  Indian  natives,  complaining  of  abuses  received  from 
the  English  subjects ;  the  commissioners,  or  any  three  or  two  of  tliem,  of  wliich 
Nicolls  was  to  be  one,  were  autliorized  to  visit  the  New-England  colonies,  and 
determine  all  con  laints  military,  civil,  and  criminal,  according  to  their  discre- 
tion, and  such  inb.  ructions,  ai  they  might  rcceivo  from  the  crown. 


-x^lltt* 


'y^ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


37 


1 

ic 
n 


words,  in  the  said  patents,  re;j|.^ectively,  and  also  by 
virtue  of  his  majesty^s  commission,  and  the  consent 
of  both  the  governors  and  the  gentlemen  above- 
named.  We  also  order  and  declare,  that  the  creek, 
or  river,  called  Mamaroneck,  which  is  reputed  to  be 
about  thirteen  miles  to  the  east  of  West-chester, 
and  a  line  drawn  from  the  east  point  or  side,  where 
the  fresh  water  falls  into  the  salt,  at  high  water 
mark,  north-north-west  to  the  line  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts, be  the  western  bounds  of  the  said  colony 
of  Connecticut,  and  all  plantations  lying  westward 
of  that  creek  and  line  so  drawn,  to  be  under  his 
royal  highness's  government ;  and  all  plantations 
lying  eastward  of  that  creek  and  line,  to  be  under  the 
government  of  Connecticut.  Given  under  our  hands, 
at  James's  Fort  in  New-York,  on  the  island  of 
Manhattan,  this  1st  day  of  December,  1664. 

"  Richard  Nicolls. 
'  "George  Carteret. 

"  S.  Mavericke. 
"  We  the  governour  and  commissioners  of  the 
general  assembly  of  Connecticut,  do  give  our  con- 
sent to  the  limits  and  bounds  above  mentioned,  as 
witness  our  hands. 


« 


Gold, 


"  John  Winthrop,  Jun. 
"  John  Winthrop, 
^  "  Allen,  Sen. 

"  Richards.  ' 

At  the  tim  J  of  this  determination,  about  two-thirds 
of  Long  Island  were  possessed  by  people  from 
New- England,  who  had  gradually  encroached  upon 
the  Dutch.  As  to  the  settlement  between  New-York 


r\ 


.#,|  4}t 


•«-J^.!***v, 


:;,i?- 


38 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YORK. 


,  S 


m^ 


and  Connectxut  on  the  main,  it  has  always  been 
considered  by  the  former,  as  f  «unded  upon  ignorance 
and  fraud-*  iThe  station  at  Mamaroneck  was  about 
thirty  miles  from  New-York ;  from  Albany  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  general  course  of  the  river 
is  about  north  12  or  15  degrees  east:  and  hence  it 
is  evident,  that  a  north-north-west  line  will  soon 
intersect  the  river,  and  consequently  leave  the  Dutch 
country,  but  a  little  before  surrendered  to  colonel 
Carteret,  out  of  the  province  of  New-York.  It  has 
been  generally  esteemed,  that  the  Connecticut 
commissioners  in  this  affair,  took  advantage  of  the 
duke^s  agents,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  geography 
of  the  country. 

The  duke's  commissioners  in  their  narrative  ex- 
press themselves  thus  :  "  The  bounds  between  the 
duke^s  province  and  Connecticut  were  mistaken  by 
wrong  information,  for  it  was  not  intended  that  they 
should  come  nearer  Hudson's  river  than  twenty  miles, 
yet  the  line  wns  set  down  by  the  commissioners  to 
go  from  such  a  point  N  N.  W.,  whereas  it  ought  to 
go  just  N.,  otherwise  ihe  lines  will  go  into  Hudson's 


n 


river. 

About  the  close  of  the  year,  the  estate  of  the 
West-India  company  was  seized  and  c(mfiscated, 
hostilities  being  actually  commenced  in  Europe  as 
well  as  America,  though  no  declarations  of  war  had 
yet  been  published  by  either  of  the  contending 
parties.  A  great  dispute  between  the  inhabitants 
of  Jamaica  on  Long  Island,  which  wbs  adjusted  by 
colonel  Nicolls,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1665,  gave 

*^  The  town  of  Ryo  was  settled  under  Connecticut,  and  the  grant  from  that 
colony  is  boundeil  l>y  ihiplinc  of  division. 


.v»?.»^-» 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YOilK. 


39 


rise  to  a  salutary  institution,  which  has  in  part 
obtained  ever  since.  The  controversy  respected 
Indian  deeds,  and  thenceforth  it  was  ordained,  that 
no  purchase  from  the  Indians,  without  the  governor's 
license  exec'>ted  in  his  presence,  should  be  valid. 
The  strengtii  and  numbers  of  the  natives  rendered 
it  necessary  to  purchase  their  rights  ;  and  to  prevent 
their  frequent  selling  the  same  tract,  it  was  expedient 
that  the  bargain  should  be  attended  with  some  con- 
siderable solemnity. 

Colonel  Nicolls  also  published  an  instrument  to 
encourage  settlers  under  the  title  of  "  The  condi- 
tions for  new  planters  in  the  territories  of  his  royal 
highness  the  duke  of  York."  I  have  met  with  three 
printed  copies  of  it.    It  was  in  these  words  : 

"  The  purchases  are  to  be  made  from  the  Indian 
sachems,  and  to  be  recorded  before  the  governor. 
The  purchasers* ;  >ot  to  pay  for  their  liberty  of  pur- 
chasing tr  the  :'(:■■'.  ior.  The  purchasers  are  to  set 
out  a  town  and  inhabit  together.  No  purchaser  shall, 
at  any  time,  contract  for  himself  with  any  sachem 
without  consent  of  his  associates,  or  special  warrant 
from  the  governor  The  purchasers  are  free  from 
all  manner  of  assessments  or  rates  for  five  years 
after  their  town-plot  is  set  out,  and  when  the  five 
years  are  expired,  they  shall  only  be  liable  to  the 
public  rates  and  payments  according  to  the  custom 
of  other  inhabitants,  both  English  and  Dutch.  All 
lands  thus  purchased  and  possessed,  shall  remain 
to  the  purchasers  and  their  heirs  as  free  lands  to 
dispose  of  as  they  please. 

*•  In  all  territories  of  his  royal  highness,  liberty 
of  conscience  is  allowed,  provided  such  liberty  is 


^   m 


^i 


'1 


f 


40 


HISTORY  OF   NEW- YORK. 


not  converted  to  licentiousness,  or  the  disturbance 
of  others  in  the  exercise  of  the  protestant  religion. 
The  several  townships  have  liberty  to  make  their 
peculiar  laws,  and  decide  all  small  cases  within 
themselves.  The  lands  which  I  intend  shall  be  first 
planted,  are  those  upon  the  west  side  of  Hudson's 
river,  at  or  adjoining  th6  Sopes.  Vhe  governor 
hath  purchased  all  the  Sopes  land,  which  is  now 
ready  for  planters  to  put  the  plough  into,  it  being 
clear  ground.  But  if  any  number  of  men  sufficient 
for  two,  or  three,  or  more  towns,  shall  desire  to  plant 
upon  any  other  lands,  they  shall  have  all  due  encou- 
ragement proportionable  Id  quality  an  J  undertak- 
ings. Every  township  is  obliged  to  pay  their  minis- 
^,er,  according  to  such  agreement  as  they  shall  make 
with  him,  and  no  man  to  refuse  his  proportion ;  the 
minister  being  elected  by  the  major  part  of  the 
householders,  inhabitants  of  the  town  Every  tow:i- 
fihip  to  have  the  free  choice  of  all  the  officers,  both 
civil  and  military ;  and  all  men  who  shall  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  his  majesty,  and  who  are  not 
servants  o;  day  labourers,  but  are  admitted  to  enjoy 
town  lots,  are  esteemed  freemen  of  the  jurisdiction, 
and  cannot  forfeit  the  same  without  due  process  in 
law.  R.  NICOLLS." 

/  ■  - 

Another  instance  of  colonel  Nicolls'  prudence, 
was  his  gradual  introduction  of  the  English  methods 
of  government.  It  was  not  till  the  12th  of  June, 
thiei  year,  that  he  incorporated  the  inhabitants  of 
New- York,  under  the  care  of  a  mayor,  five  aldermen, 
and  a  sheriff.  Till  this  time  the  city  was  ruled  by 
a  scout,  burgomasters,  and  schepens. 


f.  r 


11  ■ 


w 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


41 


In  March  preceding,  there  was  a  great  conventioa 
before  the  governor,  at  Hempstead,  of  two  deputies 
from  every  town  ?  :  ^  ong:  Island,  empowered  to  bind 
their  co.'ifltituents:.  The  design  of  their  meeting 
was  to  adjust  the  limits  of  their  townships  for  the 
preservation  of  the  public  peace. 

The  war  being  proclaimed  at  London  on  the  4th 
of  this  month,  NicoUs  received  the  account  of  it  in 
June,  with  a  letter  from  the  lord  chancellor,  inform- 
ing him,  that  De  Rnyter,  the  Dutch  admiral,  had 
orders  to  visit  New-York.  His  lordship  was  mis- 
informed, or  the  admiral  was  diverted  from  the 
enterprise,  for  the  English  peaceably  held  the 
possession  of  the  country  during  the  whole  war, 
which  was  concluded  on  the  ^  1st  of  July,  1667,  by 
the  treaty  of  Breda.  Some  are  of  opinion,  that  the 
exchange  made  with  the  Dutch  for  Surinam,  which 
they  had  taken  from  us,  was  advantageous  to  the 
nation;  but  these  judges  do  not  consider,  that  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  the  Dutch  to  have 
preserved  this  colony  against  the  increasing  strength 
of  the  people  in  New-England,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia. 

After  an  administration  of  three  years,  Nicolls 
returned  to  England  The  time  during  his  short 
residence  here,  was  almost  wholly  taken  up  in 
confirming  the  ancient  Dutch  grants.  He  erected 
no  courts  of  justice,  but  took  upon  himself  the  sole 
decision  of  all  controversies  whatsoever.  Complaints 
came  before  him  by  petition ;  upon  which  he  gave  a 
day  to  the  parties,  and  after  a  summary  hearing, 
pronounced  judgment.  His  detei-minations  were 
VOL.  I. — 6 


M 


h 


§ 


4» 


« 


I 


m 


-••«t«4!V»*-      ■      «*■*    ■    -J       ^.-J^*-        .^  .1^*. 


42 


History  op  new-york. 


called  edicts,  and  executed  by  the  sherifis  he  had 
appointed.  It  is  much  to  his  honour,  that  notwith- 
standing all  this  plenitude  of  power,  he  go'  rned 
the  province  with  integrity  and  moderation.  A 
representation  from  the  inhabitants  of  Long  Island, 
to  the  general  court  of  Connecticut,  made  about  the 
time  of  the  revolution,  commends  him  as  a  man  of 
an  easy  and  benevolent  disposition ;  and  this  testi- 
monial is  the  more  to  be  relied  upon,  because  the 
design  of  the  writers  was,  by  a  detail  of  their 
grievances,  to  induce  the  colony  of  Connecticut  to 
take  them  under  its  immediate  protection. 

Francis  Lovelace,  a  colonel,  was  appointed  by 
the  Duke,  to  succeeJ  Nicolls  in  the  government  of 
the  province,  which  he  began  to  exercise  in  May, 
1667.  As  he  was  a  man  of  great  moderation,  the 
people  lived  very  peaceably  under  him,  till  the  re- 
surrender  of  the  colony,  which  put  an  end  to  his 
power,  and  is  the  only  event  that  signalized  his 
administration. 

The  ambitious  designs  of  Louis  XIV.  against 
the  Dutch,  gave  rise  to  our  war  with  the  States 
General  in  1672.  Charles  II.  a  prince  sunk  in 
pleasures,  profligate,  and  poor,  was  easily  detached 
from  his  alliance  with  the  Dutch,  by  the  intrigues 
and  pecuniary  promises  of  the  French  king.  The 
following  passage  from  a  fine  writer,*  shows  that  his 
pretences  for  entering  into  the  war  were  perfectly 
groundN'iss  and  trifling. 

"  The  king  of  England,  on  his  side,  rep"oached 
them  with  disrespect,  in  not  directing  their  fleet  to 


!    i:   « 


*  Voltaire's  Ape  of  Louis  XIV. 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


43 


lower  the  flag  before  an  English  ship;  and  they 
were  also  accused  in  regard  to  a  certain  picture, 
wherein  Cornelius  de  Witt,  brother  to  the  pen- 
sionary, was  painted  with  the  attributes  of  a  con- 
querori  Ships  were  represented  in  the  back-ground 
of  the  piece,  either  taken  or  burnt.  Cornelius  de 
Witt,  who  had  really  had  a  great  share  in  the 
maritime  exploits  against  England,  had  permitted 
this  trifling  memorial  of  his  glory :  but  the  picture, 
which  was  in  a  manner  unknown,  was  deposited  in 
a  chamber  wherein  scarce  any  body  eve*  entered. 
The  English  ministers,  who  presented  the  complaints 
of  their  king  against  Holland,  in  writing,  therein 
mentioned  certain  abusive  pictures.  The  States, 
who  always  translated  the  memorials  of  ambassadors 
into  French,  having  rendered  abusive,  by  the  words 
fautifs  trompeurSf  they  replied,  that  they  did  not 
know  what  these  roguish  pictures  (ces  tableaux 
trompeurs)  were.  In  reality,  it  never  in  the  least 
entered  into  their  thoughts,  that  it  concerned  this 
portrait  of  one  of  their  citizens,  nor  did  they  ever 
conceive  this  could  be  a  pretence  for  declaring 
war." 

A  few  Dutch  ships  arrived  the  y6ar  after,  on  the 
90th  July,  utider  Staten  Island,  at  the  distance  of  a 
few  miles  from  the  city  of  New- York.  John  Man- 
ning, a  captain  of  an  independent  company,  had  at 
that  time  the  command  of  the  fort,  and  by  a  mes- 
senger sent  down  to  the  squadron,  treacherously 
made  his  peace  with  the  enemy.  Oh  that  very 
day  the  Dutch  ships  came  up,  moored  under  the 
fort,  landed  their  men,  and  entered  the  garrison, 
without  giving  or  receiving  a  shot,    A  council  ol 


"    !     .' 


44 


HISTORY  OP  NEW- YORK. 


war  was  afterwards  held  at  the  Stadt-house,  at  which 
were  present 

Cornelius  Evertse,  Jun.  >  ^  , 

Jacob  Benkes,  ]  Commodores. 

Anthony  Colve,  ) 

Nicholas  Boes,  >  Captains.    • 

Abraham  Ferd.Van  Zyll,  ) 

All  the  magistrates  and  constables  from  East 
Jersey,  Long-Island,  Esopus,  and  Albany,  were 
immediately  summoned  to  New- York;  and  the 
major  part  of  them  swore  allegiance  t:>  the  States 
General  and  the  prince  of  Orange.  Colonel  Love- 
lace was  ordered  to  depart  the  province,  but  after- 
wards obtained  leave  to  return  to  England  with 
commodore  Benkes.  It  has  often  been  insisted  on, 
that  this  conquest  did  not  extend  to  the  whole  pro- 
vince ef  New-Jersey,  but  upon  what  foundation  I 
cannot  discover.  From  the  Dutch  records,  it  ap- 
pears, that  deputies  were  sent  by  the  people  inha- 
biting the  country,  even  so  far  westward  as  Dela- 
ware river,  who  in  the  name  of  their  principals, 
made  a  declaration  of  their  submission ;  in  return 
for  which,  certain  privileges  were  granted  to  them, 
and  three  judicatories  erected  at  Niewer  Amstel, 
Upland,  and  Hoer  Kill.  Colve's  commission  to  be 
governor  of  this  country  is  worth  printing,  because 
it  shows  the  extent  of  the  Dutch  claims.  The  trans- 
lation runs  thus : 

"  The  honourable  and  awful  council  of  war  for 
their  high  mightinesses  the  States  General  of  the 
United  Netherlands,  and  his  serene  highness  the 
prince  of  Orange,  over  a  squadron  of  ships,  now  at 
anc  •    *n  Hudson's  river,  in  New-Netherlands ;  To 


AflT-'  \ 


HISTORY   OK   NEW-YOllK. 


45 


all  those  who  shall  see  or  hear  these,  greeting.  As 
it  is  necessary  to  appoint  a  fit  and  able  person  to 
carry  the  chief  command  over  this  conquest  of  New- 
Netherlands,  with  all  its  appendancies  and  depen- 
dancies,  from  Cape  Hinlopen,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  South  or  Delaware  bay^  and  fifteen  miles  more 
southerly,  with  the  said  bay  and  South  river  in- 
cluded ;  so  as  they  were  formerly  possessed  by  the 
directors  of  the  cicy  of  Amsterdam,  and  after  by 
the  English  government,  in  the  name  and  right  of 
the  Duke  of  York ;  and  further,  from  the  said  Cape 
Hinlopen,  along  the  Great  Ocean,  to  the  east  end 
of  Long- Island,  and  Shelter-Island  ;  from  thence 
westi^ard  to  the  middle  of  the  Sound,  to  a  town 
called  Greenwich,  on  the  main,  and  to  run  landward 
in,  northerly ;  provided  that  such  line  shall  not  come 
within  ten  miles  of  North  river,  conformable  to  a 
provincial  treaty  made  in  1650,  and  ratified  by  the 
States  General,  February  22,  1656,  and  January 
23,  1664 ;  with  all  lands,  islands,  rivers,  lakes,  kills, 
creeks,  fresh  and  salt  waters,  fortresses,  cities,  towns, 
and  pla  citations  therein  comprehended.  So  it  is, 
that  we  being  sufficiently  assured  of  the  capacity  of 
Anthony  Colve,  captain  of  a  company  of  foot,  in  the 
service  of  their  high  mightinesses,  the  States  Gene- 
ral of  the  United  Netherlands,  and  his  serene  high- 
ness the  prince  of  Orange,  &c.,  by  virtue  of  our 
commission,  granted  us  by  their  before-mentioned 
high  mightinesses  and  his  highness,  have  appointed 
and  qualified,  as  we  do  by  these  presents  appoint 
and  qualify,  the  said  captain  Anthony  Colve,  to 
govern  and  rule  these  lands,  with  the  appendancies 
and  dependancies  thereof,  as  governor-general ;  to 


1)1 


.1 


If 


1 1 

f 


I 


4S 


HISTORY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


protect  them  from  all  invasions  of  enemies,  as  he 
■hall  judge  most  necessary;  hereby  charging  all 
high  and  low  officers,  justices,  and  magistrates,  and 
others  in  authority,  soldiers,  burgl.ers,  and  all  the 
inhabitants  of  this  land,  to  acknowledge,  honour, 
respect,  and  obey,  the  said  Anthony  Cdlve,  as 
governor-general ;  for  such  we  judge  necessary,  for 
the  service  of  the  country,  waiting  the  approbation 
of  our  principals.  Thus  done  at  Fort  William 
Henderick,  the  12th  day  of  August,  1673. 

**  Signed  by  "  Cornelius  Evertse,  jun. 

"  Jacob  Benkes/' 


»i!  r-f. '- 


^      >i 


\r     ' 


The  Dutch  governor  enjoyed  his  office  but  a  very 
short  season,  for  on  the  9th  of  February,  1074,  the 
treaty  of  peace  between  England  and  the  8tates 
General  was  signed  at  Westminster ;  the  sixth  ar- 
ticle of  which  restored  this  country  to  the  English. 
The  terms  of  it  were  generally :  '•  That  whatsoever 
countries,  islands,  towns,  ports,  castles,  or  forts, 
have  or  shall  be  taken  on  both  sides,  since  the  time 
that  the  late  unhappy  war  broke  out,  either  in  Eu- 
rope or  elsewhere,  shall  be  restored  to  the  former 
lord  and  proprietor,  in  the  same  condition  they  shall 
be  in,  when  the  peace  itself  shall  be  proclaimed ; 
after  which  time  there  shall  be  no  spoil  nor  plunder 
of  the  inhabitants,  no  demolition  of  fortifications, 
ftor  carrying  away  of  guns,  powder  or  other  military 
stores,  wh'.ch  belonged  to  any  castle  or  fort,  at  the 
time  when  it  was  taken."  ;      .      ' 

The  lenity  which  began  the  administration  of 
colonel  Nicolls  was  continued  under  Lovelace.  He 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  rather  of  a  phlegmatic 


11I810RY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


47 


than  an  enterprising  disposition,  always  pursuing 
the  common  ruad,  and  scarce  ever  acting  without 
the  aid  of  his  council.       /  .;..■•      .'j.'l  .^»Ti 

It  was  this  governor  who  introduced  the  prohibi- 
tion, by  proclamation,  in  1671,  against  masters  of 
vessels  carrying  persons  off  without  a  pass  from 
the  Secretary's  office,  and  a  despatch  for  his  vessel ; 
and  it  laid  the  foundation  for  fees  to  that  office  which 
were  refused  by  the  merchants,  but  not  until  near  a 
hundred  years  afterwards.* 

Instead  of  taking  upon  himself  the  sole  determi- 
nation of  judicial  controversies,  after  the  example 
of  his  predecessor,  he  called  to  his  assistance  a  few 
justices  of  the  peace.  This,  which  was  called  the 
Court  of  Assizes,!  was  the  principal  law  judicatory 
in  those  times.  The  legislative  power  under  the 
duke,  was  vested  entirely  in  the  governor  and  coun* 
cil.  A  third  estate  might  then  be  easily  dispensed 
with,  for  the  charge  of  the  province  was  small,t 
and  in  a  great  measure  defrayed  by  his  royal  high- 
ness, the  proprietor  of  the  country.  ;....w..;, 

*  See  the  minutes  of  Council  on  the  19th  and  S3d  June,  1766.  Sir  Henry 
Moore  made  the  legality  of  the  Secretary's  passes  a  question,  and  upon  a  diver- 
sity of  opinion  between  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Horsmanden  and  Mr.  Justice  Smith, 
the  council  advised  an  estahliahment  by  act  of  asmmbly,  which  was  never 
obtained,  as  might  have  been  foreseen  from  the  jealous  temper  of  that  day, 
when  all  the  provinces  were  alarmed  by  the  stamp  act  and  the  statute  for 
quartering  soldiers. 

+  See  Note  F. 


%  The  manner  of  raising  public  money  was  established  by  colonel  Nicolls  on 
tlic  first  of  June,  1665,  and  was  thus :  The  hi^^h  sheriff  issued  a  warrant  annually, 
to  the  high  constables  of  every  district,  and  they  sent  theirs  to  the  petty  con- 
stables ;  who  with  the  overseers  of  each  town,  made  a  list  of  all  male  persona 
above  sixteen  years  of  age,  with  an  estimate  of  their  rent  and  personal  estates, 
and  then  taxed  them  according  to  certain  rates,  prescribed  by  a  law.  After  tho 
assessment  was  rotumcd  to  the  high  sheriff,  and  approved  by  the  goTemor,  the 
constables  received  warrants  for  levying  the  taxes  by  distress  and  sale. 


# 


'ij 


m 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


II    ■' 


4 


Mf       •  t 


Upon  the  concIuBion  of  peace  in  1674,  the  duke 
of  York,  to  remove  all  controversy  respecting  his 
property,  obtained  a  new  patent*  from  the  kingi 
dated  the  429th  of  June,  for  the  lands  granted  in 
1664,  and  two  days  after  commissioned  major,  after- 
wards 8ir  Edmond  Andross,  to  be  governor  of  his 
territories  in  America.  After  the  resignation  of  this 
province,  which  was  made  to  him  by  the  Dutch 
possessors,  on  the  31st  of  October  following,  he 
called  a  court  martial  to  try  Manning  for  his  trea- 
cherous and  cowardly  surrender.  The  articles  of 
accusation  exhibited  against  him  were,  in  substance : 

I.  That  the  said  Manning,  on  the  28th  of  July, 
1673,  having  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy's 
fleet,  did  not  endeavour  to  put  the  garrison  in  a 
posture  of  defence,  but  on  the  contrary,  slighted 
such  as  offered  their  assistance. 

JI.  That  while  the  fleet  was  at  anchor  under 
Staten  Island,  on  the  30th  of  July,  he  treacherously 
sent  on  board  to  treat  with  the  enemy,  to  the  great 
discouragement  of  the  garrison. 

III.  That  he  suffered  the  fleet  to  moor  under  the 
fort,  forbidding  a  gun  to  be  fired  on  pain  of  death. 

IV.  That  he  permitted  the  enemy  to  land  without 
the  least  opposition. 

V.  That  shortly  after  he  had  sent  persons  to  treat 
with  the  Dutch  commodores,  he  struck  his  flag,  even 
before  the  enemy  were  in  sight  of  the  garrison,  the 

*  Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  second  patent  waa  unneceaaiy,  the  duke  being 
rAveiled  per  poet  liminium.  This  matter  haa  been  often  diaputed  in  the  eject* 
menta  between  the  New-Jeraey  proprietors  and  the  Elizabeth  Town  patentees. 
In  New-Torkthe  right  of  poatliminy  waa  diaregarded,and  perhaps  unknown ; 
for  there  are  many  instances,  espeoially  on  Long-Island,  of  new  grants  from 
Sir  Edmond  Androas,  for  landa  patented  under  Nicolla  and  Lovelace,  by  which 
the  quit-rents  bavo  been  artfully  enlarged. 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YOUK. 


49 


fort  being  in  a  condition,  and  the  men  desirous,  to 
fight. 

VI.  And  lastly,  that  he  treacherously  caused  the 
fort  gates  to  be  opened  and  cowardly  and  basely  let 
in  the  enemy,  yichhng  the  garrison  without  articles. 

This  scandalous  charge,  which  Manning  on  his 
trial  confessed  to  be  true,  is  less  surprising  than  tho 
lenity  of  the  sentence  pronounced  against  him.  It 
was  this,  that  though  he  deserved  death,  yet  becnuse 
he  had  since  the  surrender  been  in  England,  and 
seen  the  king  and  the  duke,  it  was  adjudged  that 
his  sword  should  be  broke  over  his  head  in  public, 
before  the  City-Hall,  and  himself  rendered  incapa- 
ble of  wearing  a  sword,  and  of  serving  his  majesty 
for  the  future,  in  any  public  trust  in  the  government. 

This  light  censure  is,  however,  no  proof  that  Sir 
Edmond  was  a  man  uf  a  merciful  disposition  ;  the 
historians  of  New-England,  where  he  was  afterwards 
governor,  justly  transmit  him  to  posterity  under  tho 
odious  character  of  a  sycophantic  tool  to  the  duke, 
and  an  arbitrary  tyrant  over  the  people  committed 
to  his  care.  He  knew  no  law  but  the  will  of  his 
master,  and  Kirk  and  Jefferies  were  not  fitter  instru- 
ments than  he  to  execute  the  despotic  projects  of 
James  II. 

In  the  year  1675,  Nicholas  Renslaer,  a  Dutch 
clergyman,  arrived  here.  He  claimed  the  manor  of 
Renslaerwick,  and  was  recommended  by  the  duke 
to  Sir  Edmond  Andross  for  a  living  in  one  of  the 
churches  at  New- York  or  Albany,  probably  to  serve 
the  popish  cause.*  Niewenhyt,  minister  of  the 
church  at  Albany,  disputed  his  right  to  administer 


i 


m 


i 


■  >■ 


"  Sec  Note  G. 


VOL.  I. —  / 


50 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


P  I 


i\ 


the  sacraments,  because  he  had  received  an  episco- 
pal ordination  and  was  not  approved  by  the  Classis 
of  Amsterdam,  to  which  the  Dutch  churches  here 
hold  themselves  subordinate.     In  this  controversy 
the  governor  took  the  part  of  Renslaer,  and  ac- 
cordingly  summoned    Niewenhyt  before   him,   to 
answer  for  his  conduct.     This  minister  was  treated 
with  such  singular  contempt,   and  so   frequently 
harassed   by  fruitless  and   expensive  attendances 
before  the  council,  that  the  dispute  became  interest- 
ing, and  the  greater  part  of  the  people  resented  the 
usage  he  met  with.     Hence  we  find  that  the  magis- 
trates of  Albany  soon  after  imprisoned  Renslaer, 
tor  several  dubious  words  (as  they  are  called  in  the 
record,)  delivered  in  a  sermon.     The  governor,  on 
the  other  hand,  ordered  him  to  be  released,  and  sum- 
moned the  magistrates  to  attend  him  at  New-York: 
warrants  were  then  issued  to  compel  them  to  give 
security  in  £5000  each,  to  make  out  good  cause  for 
confining  the  minister.     Leisler,  who  was  one  of 
them,  refused  to  comply  with  the  warrant,  and  was 
thrown  into  jail.     Sir  Edmond,  fearful  that  a  great 
party  would  rise  up  against  him,  was  at  last  com- 
pelled to  discontinue  his  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction, 
and  to  refer  the  controversy  to  the  determination  of 
the  consistory  of  the  Dutch  church  at  Albany.    It  is 
perhaps  not  improbable,  that  these  popish  measures 
sowed  the  seeds  of  that  aversion  to  the  duke's  govern- 
ment, which  afterwards  produced  those  violent  con- 
vulsions in  the  province  under  Leisler,  at  the  time  of 
the  revolution  in  flavour  of  the  prince  of  Orange. 

If  Sir  Edmond  Andross's  administration  at  New- 
York  appears  to  be  less  exceptionable  than  while  he 


■v^r 


HISTORY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


61 


commanded  at  Boston,  it  was  through  want  of  more 
opportunities  to  show  himself  in  his  true  light.  The 
main  course  of  his  public  proceedings,  during  his 
continuance  in  the  province,  was  spent  in  the  ordi- 
nary acts  of  government,  which  then  principally 
consisted  in  passing  grants  to  the  subject,  and  pre- 
siding in  the  court  of  assize  established  by  colonel 
Lovelace.  The  public  exigencies  were  now  in  part 
supplied  by  a  kind  of  benevolence — the  badge  of 
bad  times !  This  appears  in  an  entry  on  the  records, 
of  a  letter  of  May  the  5th,  1676,  from  governor 
Andross,  to  several  towns  on  Long-Island,  desiring 
to  know  what  sums  they  would  contribute  towards 
the  war.  Near  the  close  of  his  administration,  he 
thought  proper  to  quarrel  with  Philip  Carteret,  who, 
in  1680,  exercised  the  government  of  East  Jersey, 
under  a  commission  from  Sir  George  Carteret,  dated 
July  the  31st,  1675.  Androsa  disputed  his  right,  and 
seized  and  brought  him  prisoner  to  New- York,  for 
which  it  is  said  he  lost  his  own  government ;  but  who- 
ever considers  that  Sir  Edmend  was  immediately  pre- 
ferred to  be  governor  of  Boston,  will  rather  believe 
that  the  duke  superseded  him  for  some  other  reasons. 
Before  I  proceed  to  the  succeeding  administra- 
tion, in  which  our  Indian  affairs  began  to  have  a 
powerful  influence  upon  the  public  measures,  it  may 
not  be  improper  to  present  the  reader  with  a  sum- 
mary view  of  the  history  and  character  of  the  Five 
Nations.*  These,  of  all  those  innumerable  tribes 
of  savages  which  inhabit  the  northern  part  of  Ame- 


u 


I 


! 


h 


*  By  the  Dutch  called  Maquaas,  by  the  French  Iroqueis.  and  by  «s,  Fivo 
Nations,  Six  Nations,  andlately  Tlio  Confederates.  They  arc  greatly  diminisli- 
oA.  and  consist  now  only  of  obout  twelve  hundred  fighting  men. 


K***-*  ^^,, ,  '^^ 


,^<  m--. 


52 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


rica,  are  of  most  importance  to  us  and  the  Frencli, 
both  on  account  of  their  vicinity  and  warlike  dispo- 
sition. Before  the  late  incorporation  of  the  Tusca- 
roras,  a  people  driven  by  the  inhabitants  of  Carolina 
from  the  frontiers  of  Virginia;  they  consisted  of  five 
confederate  cantons.*  \V  hat  in  particular  gave  rise 
to  this  league,  and  when  it  took  place,  are  questions 
which  neither  the  natives,  nor  Europeans,  pretend 
to  answer.  Each  of  these  nations  is  divided  into 
three  families,  or  clans,  of  different  ranks,  bearing 
for  their  arms,  and  being  distinguished  by  the  names 
of  the  tortoise,  the  bear,  and  the  wolf  f 

No  people  in  the  world,  perhaps,  have  highet 
notions  than  these  Indians  of  military  glory.  All 
the  surrounding  nations  have  felt  the  effects  of  their 
prowess ;  and  many,  not  only  became  their  tributa 
ries,  but  were  so  subjugated  to  their  power,  that 
without  their  consent,  they  durst  not  commence 
either  peace  or  war. 

Though  a  regular  police  for  the  preservation  of 
harmony  within,  and  the  defence  of  the  state  agednst 
invasions  from  without,  is  not  to  be  expected  from 
the  people  of  whom  I  am  now  writing,  yet  perhaps, 
they  have  paid  more  attention  to  it  than  is  generally 
allowed.  Their  government  is  suited  to  their  con- 
dition. A  people  whose  riches  consist,  not  so  much 
in  abundance  as  in  a  freedom  from  want  ;t  who  are 

*  The  Tuscaroras  were  received  upon  a  supposition  tliat  they  were  originally 
«f  the  same  stock  with  the  Five  Nations,  because  there  is  some  siniilituds 
between  their  languages. 

+  Their  instruments  of  conveyances  are  signed  by  signatures  whicli  they 
make  with  a  pen,  representing  these  animals. 

I  An  Indian,  in  answer  to  his  question,  "  What  the  white  people  meant  by 
covetousness  ?  was  told  by  another,  that  it  signified,  "  A  desire  of  more  than 
a  man  hud  need  of."    "  That's  strange !"  aaid  the  querist. 


^    )  ■ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


53 


circumscribed  by  no  boundaries,  who  live  by  hunt- 
ing, and  not  by  agriculture,  must  always  be  free, 
and  therefore  subject  to  no  other  authority  than 
such  as  consists  with  the  liberty  necessarily  arising 
from  their  circumstances  All  their  affairs,  whether 
respecting  peace  or  war,  are  under  the  direction  of 
their  sachems,  or  chief  men.  Great  exploits  and 
public  virtue  procure  the  esteem  of  a  people,  and 
qualify  a  man  to  advise  in  council,  and  execute  the 
plan  concerted  for  the  advantage  of  his  country  : 
thus  whoever  appears  to  the  Indians  in  this  advan- 
tageous light,  commences  a  sachem  without  any 
other  ceremony. 

As  there  is  no  other  way  of  arriving  at  this  dig- 
nity, so  it  ceases,  unless  an  uniform  zeal  and  activity 
for  the  common  good,  is  uninterruptedly  continued. 
Some  have  thought  it  hereditJiry,  but  that  is  a  mis- 
take. The  son  is  indeed  respected  for  his  father's 
services,  but  without  personal  merit  he  can  never 
share  in  the  government;  which,  were  it  otherwise, 
must  sink  into  perfect  disgrace.  The  children  of 
such  as  are  distinguished  for  their  patriotism,  moved 
by  the  consideration  of  their  birth,  and  the  perpe- 
tual incitements  to  virtue  constantly  inculcated  upon 
them,  imitate  their  father's  exploits,  and  thus  attain 
to  the  same  honours  and  influence ;  which  accounts 
for  the  opinion  that  the  title  and  power  of  sachem 
are  hereditary. 

Each  o?'  these  republics  has  its  own  particular 
chiefs,  who  hear  aud  determine  all  complaints  in 
couiutil,  and  though  they  have  no  officers  for  the 
execution  of  justice,  yet  their  decrees  are  always 
obeyed,  from  the  general  reproach  that  would  follow 


'.  ?i 


)l 


■If* 


■.'wR-^ 


54 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


ffl 


a  contempt  of  their  advice.  The  condition  of  this 
people  exempts  them  from  factions,  the  common 
disease  of  popular  governments.  It  is  impossible 
to  gain  a  party  amimgst  them  by  indirect  means; 
for  no  man  has  either  honour,  riches,  or  power  to 
bestow.* 

All  affairs  which  concern  the  general  interest  are 
determined  in  a  great  assembly  of  the  chiefs  of  each 
canton,  usually  held  at  Onondaga,  the  centre  of  their 
country.  Upon  emergencies  they  act  separately ; 
but  nothing  can  bind  the  league  but  the  voice  of  the 
general  convention. 

The  French,  upon  the  maxim  divide  et  impera, 
have  tried  all  possible  means  to  divide  these  repub- 
lics, and  sometimes  have  even  sown  great  jealousies 
amongst  them.  In  consequence  of  this  plan,  they 
have  seduced  many  families  to  withdraw  to  Canada, 
and  there  settled  them  in  regular  towns,  under  the 
command  of  a  fort  and  the  tuition  of  missionaries. 

The  manners  of  these  savages  are  as  simple  as 
their  government.  Their  houses  are  a  few  crotched 
stakes  thrust  into  the  ground,  and  overlaid  with 
bark.  A  fire  is  kindled  in  the  middle,  and  an  aper- 
ture left  at  the  top  for  the  conveyance  of  the  smoke. 
Whenever  «i  considerable  number  of  those  huts  are 
collected,  they  have  a  castle,  as  it  is  called,  consist- 
ing of  a  square  without  bastions^  surrounded  with 

*  The  learned,  and  judicious  author  of  '  The  Spirit  of  Laws,"  speaking  of  a 
people  who  have  a  fixed  property  in  lands,  obscives:  "That  if  a  chief  would 
deprive  them  of  their  hberty,  thjy  wo  ild  immediately  go  and  seek  it  under 
another,  or  retire  into  the  w  oods  and  live  there  with  their  families."  The  Fivo 
Nations  m^-  iftver  be  enslaved  till  they  ^f*'  w  rich  by  agriculture  and  commerce 
Pioperty  'n  the  most  permanent  basis  ')i'  nowcr.  The  authority  of  a  sachem 
depending  only  upon  his  reputation  for  wisdom  and  courage,  must  be  weak  and 
precarious,  and  therefore  pafe  to  the  people. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


55 


pallisadoes.    They  have  no  other  fortification ;  and 
this  is  only  designed  ns  an  asylum  for  their  old  men, 
their  wives,  and  children,  while  the  r^st  are  gone 
out  to  war.   They  live  almost  entirely  without  care. 
While  the  women,  or  s(|uaws,  cultivate  a  little  spot 
of  ground  for  corn,  the  men  employ  themselves  in 
hunting      As  to  clothes,  they  use  a  blanket  girt  at 
the  waist,  and  thrown  loosely  over  their  shoulders ; 
some  of  their  women  indeed  have,  besides  this,  a 
sort  of  petticoat,  and  a  few  of  their  men  wear  shirts ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  are   generally  half 
naked.  In  winter,  their  legs  are  covered  with  stock- 
ings of  blanket,  and  their  feet  with  socks  of  deer 
skin.     Many  of  them  are  fond  of  ornaments,  and 
their  taste  is  verj-  singular.      I   have  seen  rings 
affixed,    not   only  to  their  ears,  but  their  noses. 
Bracelets  of  silver  and  brass  round  their  wrists  are 
very  common.     The  women  plait  their  hair  and  tie 
it  up  behind  in  a  bag,  perhaps  in  imitation  of  the 
French  beaus  in  Canada-     Though  the  Indians  are 
capable  of  sustaining  great  hardships,    yet  they 
cannot  endure  much  labour,  being  rather  fleet  than 
strong.     Their  men  are  taller  than  the  Europeans, 
rarely  corpulent,  always  beardless,*  straight  limbed, 
of  a  tawny  complexion,  and  black  uncurled  hair. 
In  their  food  they  have  no  manner  of  delicacy,  for 
though  venison  is  their  ordinary  diet,  yet  sometimes 
they  eat  dogs,  bears,  and  even  snakes.    Their  cook- 
ery is  of  two  kinds,  boiled  or  roasted ;  to  perform 
the  latter,  the  meat  is  penetrated  by  a  short  sharp 
stick  set  in  the  ground,  inclining  towards  the  fire. 


'  i'' 


f\ 


' 


til  'i 


*  Because  tliey  pluck  out  the  hairs.  The  French  writers,  .vno  say  they  have 
naturally  no  beards,  arc  mistaken^  and  the  reasons  they  assign  for  it  are 
ridiculous. 


.^- 


■. —  ••«»•■• 


56 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


and  turned  as  occasion  requires.    They  are  hospi- 
table to  strangers,  though  few  Europeans  would 
relish  their  highert  fR7ours  of  this  kind,  for  they 
are  very  nasty  hvV'  i,?  their  garments  ana  food. 
Every  man  has  his  own  wife   whom  he  takes  and 
leaves  at  pleasure :  a  plurality,  however,  at  the  same 
time,  is  by  no  means  admitted  amongj'f  them.    They 
have  been  generally  commendcvl  for  their  chastity, 
but  I  am  informed  by  good  authority,  that  they  are 
very  lascivious  ;   and   that  the  women,   to  avoid 
?eproach,  frequently  destroy  the  foetus  in  ihe  woriilu 
They  are  so  in^rloctly  free,  that  unless  their  children^ 
who  generally  msiat  the  mother,  may  be  called  ser- 
vants, they  havr  none.     The  nu  n  frequently  asso- 
ciate themselves  for  co5iv?o3'bati<»ii,  by  which  means 
they  not  only  preserve    iu;  f^  lojiAbrince  of  their 
wars  and  treaties,  hui  dliW  ^c'  arnang  their  youths, 
incitements  to  mditary  glory,  :is  well  as  instruction 
in  all  the  subtleties  of  war. 

Bince  tlaey  became  acquainted  with  thelluropeans, 
their  warlike  apparatus  is  a  musket,  hatchet,*  and 
a  long  knife.  Their  hoys  still  accustom  themselves 
to  bowi<;  and  arrows,  and  are  so  dextrous  in  the  use 
of  them,  that  b  lad  of  sixteen  will  strike  an  English 
shilling  five  vhaes  in  ten,  at  twelve  or  fourteen  yards 
distance.  Their  men  are  excellent  marksmen,  both 
with  the  gun  and  hatchet ;  their  dexterity  at  the 
latter  is  vt  ry  extraordinary,  for  they  rarely  miss  the 
object,  though  at  a  considerable  distance.  The 
hatchet  in  the  flight  perpetually  turns  round,  and  yet 
always  strikes  the  mark  with  the  edge. 


'  Hence,  to  Uk>i  up  the  hatchet,  is  with  their,  a  phrase  sig^nifying  to  declare 
^v&r;  as  on  the  contrary  to  bury  it  denotes  the  establishment  of  a  peace. 


I- 


HISTORY    OF    NEW-YORK. 


57 


Before  they  go  out,  they  have  a  feast  upon  dog's 
flesh,  and  a  great  war  dance.  At  these,  the  warrio";;,, 
who  are  frightfully  painted  with  vermilion,  ri^e  up 
and  sing  their  own  exploits,  or  those  of  their  ances- 
tors, and  thereby  kindle  a  military  enthusiasm  in 
the  sv'liole  company.  The  day  after  ihe  dance, 
they  inarch  out  a  few  miles  in  a  row,  observing  a 
"nrofoxt*  J  filence.  The  procession  being  ended, 
thf  y  -iv-rip  the  bark  from  a  large  oak,  and  paint  the 
design  of  their  expedition  on  the  naked  trunk. 
The  figure  of  a  canoe,  with  the  number  of  men  in 
it;  delormines  the  strength  of  their  party;  and  by  a 
i)eer,  a  fox,  or  some  other  emblem  painted  at  the 
head  of  it,  we  discover  against  what  nation  they 
are  gone  out. 

The  Five  Nations  being  devoted  to  war,  every 
art  is  contrived  to  diffuse  a  military  spirit  through 
the  whole  body  of  their  people.  The  ceremonies 
attending  the  return  of  a  party,  seem  calculated  in 
particular  for  that  purpose.  The  day  before  they 
enter  the  village,  two  heralds  advance,  and  at  a 
small  distance  set  up  a  yell,  which  by  its  modulation 
intimates  either  good  or  bad  news.  If  the  former, 
the  village  is  alarmed,  and  an  entertainment  pro- 
vided for  the  conquerors,  who  in  the  mean  time 
»»"'>roach  in  sight:  one  of  them  bears  the  scalps 
atrttched  over  a  bow,  and  elevated  upon  a  long 
pole.  The  boldest  man  in  the  town  comes  out, 
and  receives  it,  and  instantly  flies  to  the  hut  where 
the  rest  are  collected.  If  he  is  overtaken,  he  is 
beaten  unmercifully ;  but  if  he  out -runs  the  pursuer, 
he  participates  in  the  honor  of  the  victors,  who  at 
their  first  entranci"  •eceive  no  compliments,  nor 
VOL.  ». — P 


f\\ 


m 


;i 


!i 


■<\ 


i 


ii 


58 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


speak  a  single  word  till  the  end  of  the  feast.  Their 
parents,  wives,  and  children,  then  are  admitted, 
and  treat  them  with  the  profoundest  respect.  After 
these  salutations,  one  of  the  conquerors  is  appointed 
to  relate  the  whole  adventure,  to  which  the  rest 
attentively  listen,  without  asking  a  question,  and 
the  whole  concludes  with  a  savage  dance. 

The  Indians  never  aght  in  the  field,  or  upon 
equal  terms,  but  always  skulk  and  attack,  by  sur- 
prise, in  small  parties,  meeting  every  night  at  a 
place  of  rendezvous.  Scarce  any  enemy  can  escape 
them,  for  by  the  disposition  of  the  grass  and  leaves, 
they  follow  his  track  with  great  speed  any  where 
but  over  a  rock.  Their  barbarity  is  shocking  to 
human  nature.  Women  and  children  they  generally 
kill  and  scalp,  because  they  would  retard  their 
progress,  but  the  men  they  carry  into  captivity.  If 
any  woman  has  lost  a  relation,  and  inclines  to 
receive  the  prisoner  in  his  stead,  he  not  only  escapes 
a  series  of  the  most  inhuman  tortures,  and  death 
itself,  but  enjoys  every  immunity  they  can  bestow, 
and  is  esteemed  a  msmber  of  the  family  into  which 
he  is  adopted  To  part  with  him  would  be  the  most 
ignominious  conduct,  and  considered  as  selling 
the  blood  of  the  deceased  ;  and,  for  this  reason,  it  is 
not  without  the  greatest  difficulty  that  a  captive  is 
redeemed. 

When  the  Indians  incline  to  peace,  a  messenger 
is  sent  to  the  enemy  with  a  pipe,  the  bowl  of  which 
is  made  of  soft  red  marble  ;  and  a  long  reed,  beau- 
tifully painted,  and  adorned  with  the  gay  plumage 
of  birds,  forms  the  stem.  This  is  his  infallible 
protection  from  any  assault  on  the  way.   The  envoy 


iV 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YORK. 


69 


ir 


makes  his  proposals  to  the  enemy,  who,  if  they 
approve  them,  ratify  the  preliminaries  to  the  peace, 
by  smoking  through  the  pipe,  and  from  that  in- 
stant, a  general  cessation  of  arms  takes  place.  The 
French  call  it  a  Calumet.  It  is  used,  as  far  as  I 
can  learn,  by  all  the  Indian  nations  upon  the  conti- 
nent. The  rights  of  it  are  esteemed  sacred,  and 
have  only  been  invaded  by  the  Flat  Heads ;  in  just 
indignation  for  which,  the  Confederates  maintained 
a  war  with  them  for  near  thirty  years. 

As  to  the  language  of  the  Five  Nations,  the  best 
account  I  have  had  of  it,  is  contained  in  a  letter 
from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spencer,  Who  resided  iimongst 
them  in  the  year  1748,  being  then  a  missionary 
from  the  Scotch  Society  for  propagating  Christian 
Knowledge.     He  writes  thus  : 

"  Sir,  Though  I  was  very  desirous  of  learning 
the  Indian  tongue,  yet  through  my  short  residence 
at  Onoughquage,  and  the  surly  disposition  of  my 
interpreter,  I  confess  my  proficiency  was  not  great. 

"Except  the  Tuscaroras,  all  the  Six  Nations 
speak  a  language  radically  the  same.  It  is  very 
masculine  and  sonorous,  abounding  with  gutturals 
and  strong  aspirations,  but  without  labials.  Its 
solemn  grave  tone  is  owing  to  the  generosity  of  its 
feet,  as  you  will  observe  in  the  following  transla- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  in  which  I  have  distin- 
guished the  time  of  every  syllable  by  the  common 
marks  used  in  prosody.* 


I,  ! 


i 


*  If  we  had  a  good  dictionary,  marking  the  quantity  as  well  as  emphasis  ol' 
every  syllable  in  the  English  language,  it  would  conduce  to  an  accuracy  and 
uniformity  of  pronunciation.  The  dignity  of  style,  so  far  as  the  ear  is  concern- 
ed, consists  principally  in  generous  loot;  and  perhaps  it  may  be  a  just  remark, 
that  no  sentenre.  unless  in  a  dialogue,  ends  well  without  n  full  sound ;  Gordon 


60 


IIISTORV   OF   NEW- YORK. 


«j  -  -.  o        — 


—  u    - 


"  Soungwauneha,  caurounkyawga,  tehseotaroan, 
sauhsoncyousta,  esa,  sawant  you,  Okottauhsela,  ch- 
neauwoung.  iia,  caurounkyawga,  nughwonshauga, 
ncattewehnesalauga,taugwaunautoronoantough8ick, 
toantaugweleewheyoustaung,  cl;<n<' /ouJ  chaqua- 
tautalehwheyoustaunna,  tough  '.u,  tP'jgvvaussareneli, 
tawautottenaugaloughtoungjL!' ,   nasawnc?,    sacheau- 

—  w        —        U--       —  _—        o         -w  yw        — 

taugwass,  coantchsalohaunzaickaw.  c-aa,  sawauno- 
you,  esa,  sashautzta,  esn,  soungwasoung,  chennoau- 
haungwa,  auwen. 

"  The  extraordinary  length  of  Indian  words,  and 
the  guttural  aspirai:ons,  necessary  in  pronouncing 
them,  render  the  speech  extremely  rough  and  dif- 
ficult. The  ver}  9  never  change  in  their  termina- 
tions, as  in  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew,  but  all  their 
variations  are  prefixed.  Besides  the  singular  and 
plural,  they  have  also  the  dual  number.  A  strange 
transposition  of  syllables  ofditferent  words,  euphonic 
gratid,  is  very  common  in  the  Indian  tongue,  of 
which  I  will  give  an  instance.  Ogilla  signifies  fire, 
and  cXwAUNNA  great,  but  instead  of  joining  the  ad- 
jective and  substantive  to  say  great  fire,  cawaunna 
OGILLA,  both  words  would  be  blended  into  this  one, 
c6-GiLLA-WAUNNA.  The  dialcct  of  the  Oneidas  is 
softer  than  that  of  the  other  na' tons;  or,d  the  voasoii 
is,  because  they  have  more  vowels,  and  often  supply 
the  place  of  harsh  letters  with  liofu^Js.  Instead  of 
R,  they  always  use  L :  Rebecca  vvo"ld  be  prono.  need 
Lequecca." 


and  ForUy<;e  rarely  swerve  from  tins  rule,  and  Mr.  ^^ason,  an ; 
'las  lately  written  wiili  great  applause  on  this  attribute  of  sfyli 


)us     ithor. 


«• 


IirSTORY   OF   NEW-YOllK. 


61 


a, 


11. 


Tho  art  of  public  speaking  is  in  high  esteem 
among  tho  Indians,  and  much  studied.  <ey  are 
extremely  tbnd  uf  method,  and  displease*  .ith  an 
irregular  harangue,  be^'ause  it  is  dithcult  to  bo 
remembered.  When  tney  answer,  they  repeat  the 
whole,  reducing  it  into  strict  order.  Their  speeches 
are  short,  and  the  sense  conveyed  in  strong  meta- 
phors. In  conversation  they  are  sprightly  ;  but 
solemn  and  serious  in  their  messages  relating  to 
public  aflairs.  Their  speakers  deliver  themselves 
with  surprising  force  and  great  propriety  of  gesture. 
The  fierceness  of  their  countenances,  the  flowing 
blanket,  elevated  tone,  naked  arm,  and  erect  stature, 
with  a  half  circle  of  auditors  seated  on  the  ground, 
and  in  the  open  air,  cannot  but  impress  upon  tho 
mind,  a  lively  idea  of  tho  ancient  on:  jrs  of  Greece 
and  Rom  !. 

At  the  close  of  every  important  part  of  the  speech, 
ratifying  an  old  covenant,  or  creating  a  new  one,  a 
belt  is  generally  given,  to  perpetuate  the  remem- 
brance r  the  transaction.  These  belts  are  about 
four  inci"  '  wide  ad  thirty  in  length.  They  con- 
sist of  strmfs  of  conquc  shell  beads  fastened  to- 
gether.* 

With  respect  'o  religion,  the  Indians  may  be 
said  to  be  undei  le  thickest  gloom  of  ignorance. 
If  they  have  any,  which  is  much  to  be  questioned, 
those  who  affirm  it,  will  find  it  difficult  to  tell  us 
wherein  it  consists.     They  have  neither  priest  nor 


)  w 


1 


I 


I 


l\ 


■  Those  beads  which  pass  for  money,  are  called  by  tlio  Indians,  xcampwn, 
and  by  the  Dutch,  sewant;  six  beads  were  formerly  valued  at  a  etyver.  There 
are  always  several  poor  families  at  Albany,  who  supiiort  themselves  by  coining 
this  cash  for  the  traders. 


\  ! 


i-fi 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


temple,  sacrifice  nor  altar.  Some  traces,  indeed, 
appear  of  the  original  law  written  upon  their  hearts ; 
but  they  have  no  system  of  doctrines,  nor  any  rites 
and  modes  of  public  worship.  They  are  sunk 
unspeakably  beneath  the  polite  pagans  of  antiquity. 
Borne  confused  notions,  indeed,  of  beings  superior 
to  themselves,  they  have;  but  of  the  Deity  and 
his  natural  and  moral  perfections,  no  proper  or 
tolerable  conception ;  and  of  his  general  and 
particular  providence  they  know  nothing.  They 
profess  no  obligations  to  him,  nor  acknowledge 
their  dependence  upon  him.  Some  of  them,  it  is 
said,  are  of  opinion,  that  there  are  two  distinct, 
powerful  beings,  one  able  to  help,  the  other  to  do 
them  harm.  The  latter  they  venerate  most,  and 
some  allege,  that  they  address  him  by  a  kind  of 
prayer.  Though  there  are  no  public  monuments  oi' 
idolatry  to  be  seen  in  their  country,  yet  the  missiona- 
ries have  discovered  coarse  imagery  in  wooden 
trinkets,  in  the  hands  of  their  jugglers,  which  the 
converts  deliver  up  as  detestable.  The  sight  of 
them  would  remind  a  man  of  letters,  of  the  Lares 
and  Penates  of  the  ancients,  but  no  certain  judg- 
ment can  be  formed  of  their  use.  The  Indians 
sometimes  assemble  in  large  numbers,  and  retire 
far  into  the  wilderness,  where  they  eat  and  drink  in 
a  profuse  manner.  These  conventions  are  called 
Kenticoys.  Some  esteem  them  to  be  debauched 
revels  or  Bacchanalia ;  but  those  who  have  privately 
followed  them  into  these  recesses,  give  such  accounts 
of  their  conduct,  as  naturally  lead  one  to  imagine, 
that  they  pay  a  joint  homage  and  supplication  to 
some  invisible  being.     If  wc  suppose  they  hove  a 


'■"^^f "' 


IIISTOBY  OF   NEW- YORK. 


6SJ 


religion,  it  is  worse  than  none,  and  raises  in  the  gene- 
rous mind  most  melancholy  ideas  of  their  depraved 
condition.    Little  has  been  done  to  illuminate  these 
dark   corners  of  the  earth   with  the  li^ht   of  the 
Gospel.     The  French  priests  boast  indeed  of  their 
converts,  but  they  have  made  more  proselytes  to 
politics  than  religion.     Queen  Anne  sent  a  mis- 
sionary amongst  them,  and  gave  him  an  appointment 
out  of  the  privy  purse.     He  was  a  man  of  a  good 
life,  but  slow  parts ;  and  his  success  very  incon- 
siderable. The  Rev.  Mr.  Barclay  afterwards  resided 
among  the  Mohawks,  but  no  suitable  provision  being 
made  for  an  interpreter,  he  was  obliged  to  break  up 
the  mission.     If  the  English  Society  for  propagating 
the  Gospel,  that  truly  venerable  body,  instead  of 
maintaining  missionaries  in  rich  Christian  congrega- 
tions along  the  continent,  expended  half  the  amount 
of  their  annual  contributions  on  evangelists  among 
the    heathen,    besides   the   unspeakable    religious 
benefits  that  would,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  accrue  to  the 
natives,  such  a  proceeding  would  conduce  greatly 
to  the  safety  of  our  colonies,  and   his   majesty's 
service.     Much  has  been  written  upon  this  subject 
in  America  ;*  and  why  nothing  to  purpose  has  yet 
been  attempted  in  England,  towards  so  laudable  a 
design,  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  amazing  false- 
hoods and  misrepresentations,  by  which  some  of 
the  missionaries  have  long  imposed  upon  benevolent 
minds  in  Great  Britain. f 

As  to  ..ae  history  of  the  Five  Nations,  before  their 


* 


I  i 


="  See  Mr.  liubart's  Letters  to  the  Episcopalians  in  New-England.    Tim 
Account  of  the  Scotch  Miwion  at  Stockbridtre.    Douj^lasts's  Summary,  &c. 
t  See  NotP  H. 


_J^^U0~ 


64 


HISTORY    OP    NEW-YOKK. 


\     I 


i»!' 


i 


'} 


acquaintance  with  the  Europeans,  it  is  wrapt  up  in 

the  darkness  of  antiquity.     It  is  said  t'  it  their  first 

residence  was  in  the  country  about  Montreal ;  and 

that  the  superior  strength  of  the  Adirondacks,  whom 

the  French  call  Aigonquins,  drove  ihem  into  their 

present  possessions,  lying  on  the  so»r*'>  side  of  the 

Mohawks   River,   and   the   great   Lake    Ontario.* 

Towards  the  close  of  th<  se  disputes,  which  continued 

for  a  long  series  of  years,  the  confederates  gained 

advantages   over  the   Adirondacks,   and   struck   a 

gennial   terror   into   all    the   other   Indians.     The 

Hurons   -n  the  north  side  of  the  Lake  Erio  g  .d  the 

Oat  Indians  on  the  south  side,  were  totally  conquered 

and  dispersed.     Tiie  French,  who  settled  Canada 

in  160.0,  took  umbrage  at  their  success,  and  began 

a  war  with  them  which  had  well  nigh  ruined  the 

new  colony.     In  autumn  1665.  Mr.  Courcelles,  the 

governor,  sent  out  a  party  against  the  Mohawkt;. 

Througii  ignorance  of  the  country,  and  the  want  of 

snow-shoes,  they  were  almost  perished,  when  they 

fell  in   with    Schenectady.      And  even   there   the 

Indians  would  have  sacrificed  them  to  their  barbarous 

rage,  had  not  Corlear,  a  Dutchman,  interposed  to 

protect  them.     For  this  seasonable  hospitality,  the 

*  Cliarlevoix,  in  partiality  to  the  French,  limits  the  country  of  tho  Five 
Nations,  on  the  north,  to  the  44ili  degree  ct'  latitude  ;  accordinc;  to  which,  all  the 
country  on  the  noith  side  of  the  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  river  issuing  thence  to 
Montreal,  together  with  a  considerable  tract  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  that 
river,  belcngs  to  the  Frencli.  Hennepin,  a  Recollet  friar,  has  more  regard  to 
truth  than  the  Jesuit ;  for  he  tells  us  in  .-ITect,  that  tlie  Iroqutii"  possessed  tho 
lands  on  the  north  as  well  as  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  and  mentions  several  of 
their  villages  in  1679,  viz.  Tc\jajahon,  Kente,  and  Ganneousse.  The  map  in  his 
book  agrees  with  the  text.  Charlevoix  is  at  vaiianco  with  his  geographer;  for 
Mr.  Bellin,  besides  laying  down  those  towns  in  the  map,  contained  in  the  fifth 
volume,  writes  on  the  north  side  of  the  protkuction  of  I<nkeOntarii.  7^M/ro7H0M 


■  ...-•  *^- 


^rv 


HISTORY    OP   NEW-YOHK. 


65 


French  governor  invited  him  to  Canada,  but  he  was 
unfortunately  drowned  in  his  passage  through  the 
Lake  Champlain.     It  is  in  honour  of  this  man,  who 
was  a  favourite  of  the  Indians,  that  the  governors 
of  New- York,  in  all  their  treaties  are  addressed  by 
the  name  of  Corlear.     Twenty  light  companies  of 
foot,  and  the  whole  militia  of  Canada,  marched  the 
next  spring  into  the  country  of  the  Mohawks  ;  but 
their  success  was  vastly  unequal  to  the  charge  and 
labour  of  such  a  tedious  march  of  seven  hundred 
miles,  through  an  uncultivated  desert ;  for  the  In- 
dians, on  their  approach,  retired  into  the  woods, 
leaving  behind  them  some  old  sachems,  who  pre- 
ferred death  to  life,  to  glut  the  fury  of  their  enemies. 
The  emptiness  of  this  parade  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  Indian  fearfulness  of  fire  arms  on  the  other, 
brought  about  a  peace  in  1667,  which  continued  for 
several   yea"3    after.     In   this  interval,  both  the 
English  and  French  cultivated   a  trade  with  the 
natives,  very  profitable  to  both  nations.     The  latter, 
however,  were  most  politic  and  vigorous,  and  filled 
the  Indian  country  with  their  missionaries.     The 
Sieur  Perrot,  the  very  year  in  which  the  peace  was 
concluded,  travelled  about  1,200  miles  westward, 
making  proselytes  of  the  Indiaiis  every  wliere  to  the 
French  interest.     Courcelles  appears  to  have  been 
a  man  of  art  and  industry.     He  took  every  measure 
in  his  power  for  the  defence  of  Canada.     To  pre- 
vent the  irmptions  of  the  Five  Nations,  by  the  way 
of  Lake  Champlain,  he  built  several  forts,  in  1665, 
between  that  and  the  mouth  of  the  river  Sorel.     In 
1672,    just    before  his  return   to   France,   under 
pretence  of  treating  with  the  Indians  more  commo- 

VOL.  I. — 9 


u 


,1i5' 


66 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YOttli. 


diously,  but  in  reality,  as  Charlevoix  expresses  it, 
"  to  bridle  them,"  he  obtained  their  leave  to  erect  a 
fort  at  Oadar»oqui,  or  Lake  Ontario,  which  Count 
Frontenac,  his  successor,  completed  the  following 
spring,  and  called  after  his  own  name.''^  The  com- 
mand of  it  was  afterwards  given  to  Mr.  d^  la  Salle, 
who,  in  1678,  rebuilt  it  with  stone.  This  enter- 
prisiog  person,  the  same  year,  launched  a  bark  of 
ten  tons  into  the  Lake  Ontario,  and  another  of  sixty 
tons,  the  year  after,  into  Lake  Erie,  about  which 
time  he  inclosed  with  palisadoes,  a  little  spot  at 
Niagara. 

Though  the  Duke  of  York  had  preferred  colonel 
Thomas  Dongan  to  the  government  of  this  province 
on  the  30th  of  September,  1682,  he  did  not  arrive 
here  till  the  27th  of  August,  in  the  following  year. 
He  was  a  man  of  integrity,  moderation,  and  genteel 
manners,  and  though  a  professed  Papist,  may  be 
classed  among  the  best  of  our  governors. 

The  people,  who  had  been  formerly  ruled  at  the 
will  of  the  duke's  deputies,  began  their  first  par- 
ticipation in  the  legislative  power  under  Colonel 
Dongan ;  for  shortly  after  his  arrival,  he  issued 
orders  to  the  sheriffs,  to  summon  the  freeholders 
for  choosing  representatives,  to  meet  him  in  as- 
sembly on  the  17th  of  October,  1683.  Nothing 
could  be  more  agreeable  to  the  people,  who,  whether 
Dutch  or  English,  were  born  the  subjects  of  a  free 
state ;  nor,  indeed,  was  the  change  of  less  advantage 
to  the  duke  than  to  the  inhabitants.     For  such  a 


*  In  May,  1721,  it  was  a  squaro  with  four  bastioiu,  built  of  stono,  being  a 
quarter  of  a  French  league  in  circumference ;  before  it,  are  many  small  islands. 
»nd  a  good  harbour,  and  bohincl  it  a  morass. — Charlevoir. 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


67 


it, 
a 

nt 


general  disgust  had  prevailed,  and  in  particular  in 
Long  Island,  against  the  old  form  which  Colonel 
Nicolls  had  introduced,  as  threatened  the  total 
subversion  of  the  pubhc  tranquillity.  Colonel  Don- 
gaa  saw  the  disaffection  of  the  people  at  the  east 
end  of  the  island,  for  he  landed  there  on  his  first 
arrival  in  the  country  ;  and  to  extinguish  the  fire  of 
discontent,  then  impatient  to  burst  out,  gave  them 
his  promise,  that  no  laws  or  rates  for  the  future 
should  be  imposed,  but  by  a  general  assembly. 
Doubtless,  this  alteration  was  agreeable  to  the  duke's 
orders,  who  had  been  strongly  importuned  for  it,* 
as  well  as  acceptable  to  the  people,  for  they  sent 
him  soon  after  an  address,  expressing  the  highest 
sense  of  gratitude,  for  so  beneficial  a  change  in  the 
government.  This  is  a  copy  of  it,  entitled  "  The 
humble  address  of  the  sheriffs  to  the  most  illus- 
trious prince,  James,  duke  of  York  and  Albany  :" 


t( 


May  it  please  your  royal  highness, 
"  We  should  be  very  unworthy  of  the  great 
benefits  and  advantages  we  have  received  under 
your  just  and  gentle  government,  in  so  happy  a 
climate,  where  every  one  enjoys  his  own  just  rights, 
liberties,  and  privileges,  if  we  should  still  ungrate- 
fully continue  in  a  silent  neglect  of  a  due  acknow- 
ledgment of  your  royal  highness,  so  often. 

"  We  do,  therefore,  beseech  your  royal  highness 
to  accept  our  most  humble  and  most  hearty  thanks, 
for  sending  us  over  tlie  honourable  colonel  Thomas 

'  The  petition  to  his  royal  highness  was  drawn  by  the  council,  the  aldemren  of 
New- York,  and  the  justices  of  the  peace  at  the  court  of  assize,  the  29th  ol  Juno. 
1681.  I  have  seen  a  copy  in  tlie  hands  of  Lewis  Morris,  Esq.  It  contains 
many  severe  reflectioni  upon  the  tyranny  of  Sir  Ec'.mond  Androsfi- 


I 


J 


68 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


Dongan,  tc  be  lieutenant  and  governor  of  this 
province,  of  whose  integrity,  justice,  equity,  and 
prudence,  we  have  already  had  a  very  sufficient 
experience  at  our  last  general  court  of  assizes. 
And  that  your  royal  highness  might  accumulate 
your  gracious  favours,  and  oblige  not  only  us  but 
succeeding  generations,  it  has  pleased  your  royal 
highness  to  grant  us  a  general  assembly,  to  be  held 
the  17th  of  this  instant  October,  in  your  city  of 
New- York ;  a  benevolence  of  which  we  have  a 
larger  and  more  gratefcl  sense  than  can  be  ex- 
pressed in  this  paper.  And  that  it  may  appear  that 
loyalty  has  spread  as  far  into  these  parts  of  America, 
we  will  be  alwayp  ready  to  offer  up  with  our  hearty 
prayers,  both  our  lives  and  fortunes,  for  the  defence 
of  our  most  gracious  sovereign,  the  king's  most 
sacred  majest}/,  and  your  royal  highness,  against  all 
enemies  whatsoever. 

«  New- York,  October  9th,  1683." 


It  would  have  been  impossible  for  him  much 
longer  to  have  maintained  the  old  model  over  free 
subjects,  who  had  just  before  formed  themselves 
into  a  colony  for  the  enjoyment  of  their  liberties, 
and  had  even  already  solicited  the  protection  of  the 
colony  of  Connecticut,  from  whence  the  greatest 
part  of  them  came.  Disput^3s  r  ating  to  the  limits 
of  certain  townships  at  the  east  end  of  Long  Island, 
sowed  the  seeds  of  enmity  against  Dongan,  so 
deeply  in  the  hearts  of  many  who  were  concerned 
in  them,  that  their  representation  to  Connecticut, 
at  the  revolution,  contains  ths  bitterest  invectives 
against  him. 


-■jir -;■;<!»■>•:*  !,;•"■ 


-.\■v:.^ 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


Dongan  surpassed  all  his  predecessors,  in  a  due 
attention  to  our  affairs  with  the  Indians,  by  whom 
he  was  highly  esteemed.  It  must  be  remembered 
to  his  honour,  thnt  though  he  was  ordered  by  the 
duke  to  encourage  the  French  priests,  who  were 
come  to  reside  among  the  natives,  under  pretence 
of  advancing  the  Popish  cause,  but  in  reality  to  gain 
them  over  to  a  French  interest ;  yet  he  forbid  the 
Five  Nations  to  entertain  them.  The  Jesuits,  how- 
ever, had  no  small  success.  Their  proselytes  are 
called  Praying  Indians,  or  Caghnuagaes,  and  reside 
now  in  Canada,  at  the  Fall  of  St.  Louis,  opposite  to 
Montreal.  This  village  was  begun  in  1671,  and 
consists  of  such  of  the  Five  Nations,  as  have  for- 
merly been  drawn  away  by  the  intrigues  of  the 
French  priests,  in  the  times  of  Lovelace  and 
Andross,  who  seem  to  have  paid  no  attention  to  our 
Indian  affairs.*  It  was  owing  to  the  instigation 
also  of  these  priests,  that  the  Five  Nations  about 
this  time,  committed  hostilities  on  the  back  parts 
of  Maryland  .md  Virginia,  which  occasioned  a  grand 
convention  at  Albany,  in  the  year  1684.  Lord 
Howard  of  Effingham,  the  governor  of  Virginia, 
was  present,  and  made  a  covenant  with  them  for 
preventing  further  depredations,  towards  the  ac- 
complishment of  which  Colonel  Dongan  was  very 
instrumental. t  Doctor  Golden  has  published  this 
treaty  at  large,  but  as  it  hpi^  no  immediate  connec- 
tion with  the  affairs  of  this  province,  I  beg  leave  to 

*  Gf  lato,  some  others  of  the  Confederates  have  been  allured  to  settle  at  Os- 
wegatchi,  called  by  the  French,  la  Gallette,  near  fifty  miles  below  Frontenac. 
General  Siiirley's  emissaries  from  Oswego,  in  1755,  prevailed  with  screral  of 
these  families  to  return  to  their  old  habitations. 

■*  This.covenant  was  ratified  in  1685,  and  at  several  times  since, 


*  ci 

1 


/^ 


/  . 


:fi 


mmi^mi 


70 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


id 


refer  the  reader  for  a  full  account  of  it  to  his  His- 
tory of  the  Five  Nations. 

While  Lord  Howard  was  at  Albany,  a  messenger 
from  De  la  Barre,  then  governor  of  Canada,  arrived 
there,  complaining  of  the  Seneca  Indians,  for  in- 
terrupting the  French  in  their  trade  with  the  more 
distant  Indians,  commonly  included  among  us  by 
the  general  name  of  the  Far  Nations.^  Colonel 
Dongan,  to  whom  the  message  was  sent,  commu- 
nicated it  to  the  Senecas,  who  admitted  the  charge, 
but  justified  their  conduct,  alleging,  that  the  French 
supplied  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  Twightwies,t 
with  whom  they  were  then  at  war.  De  la  Barre,  at 
the  sp.me  time,  meditating  nothing  less  than  the  total 
desi  ition  of  the  Five  Natiofls,  proceeded  with  an 
army  J  1,700  men  to  the  Lake  Ontario.  Mighty 
preparatic  :  were  made  to  obtain  the  desired  suc- 
cess :  fresh  troops  were  imported  from  France,  and 
a  letter  procu'^'^d  from  the  duke  of  York  to  colonel 
Dongan,  commanding  him  to  lay  no  obstacles  in 
the  way.  The  officers  posted  in  the  out  forts,  even 
as  far  as  Messilimakinac,  were  ordered  to  rendezvous 
at  Niagara,  with  all  the  Western  Indians  they  could 
engage.  Dongan,  regardless  of  the  duke's  orders, 
apprised  the  Indians  of  the  French  designs,  and 
promised  to  assist  them.  After  six  weeks  delay  at 
Fort  Frontenac,  dur:ng  which  time  a  great  sickness, 
occasioned  by  bad  provisions,  broke  out  in  the 
French  army,  De  la  Barre  found  it  necessary  to 

*  By  the  Far  Nations,  are  meant  all  those  numerous  tribes  inJiabiting  the 
countries  on  both  sides  of  the  lakes  Huron  and  Erie,  westward  as  far  as  the 
Missisippi,  and  the  southern  country  along  tho  b&nks  cf  the  Ohio,  and  its 
branches. 

+  By  the  French  called  Miamies. 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


71 


i 


conclude  the  campaign  with  a  treaty,  for  which 
purpose  he  crossed  the  lake,  and  came  to  the  place 
which,  from  the  distress  of  his  army,  was  called  la 
Famine.  Dongan  sent  an  interpreter  among  the 
Indians,  by  all  means  to  prevent  them  from  attend- 
ing the  treaty.  The  Mohawks  and  Senecas  ac- 
cordingly refused  to  meet  De  la  Barre,  but  the 
Oneidas,  Onondagas,  and  Cayugas,  influenced  by 
the  missionaries,  were  unwiLing  to  hear  the  inter- 
preter, except  before  the  priests,  one  La  Maine, 
and  three  other  Frenchmen,  and  afterwards  waited 
upon  the  French  governor.  Two  days  after  their 
arrival  in  the  camp,  Monsieur  De  la  Barre  address- 
ing himself  to  Garrangula,  an  Onondaga  chiefj 
made  the  following  speech,  the  Indians  and  French 
officers  at  the  same  time  forming  a  circle  round 
about  him. 

"  The  king,  my  master,  being  informed  that  the 
Five  Nations  have  often  infringed  the  peace,  has 
ordered  me  to  come  hither  with  a  guard,  and  to 
send  Ohguesse  to  the  Onondagas,  to  bring  the 
chief  sachems  to  my  camp.  The  intention  of  the 
great  king  is,  that  you  and  I  may  smoke  the  calumet 
of  peace  together ;  but  on  this  condition,  that  you 
promise  me,  in  the  name  of  the  Senecas,  Cayugas, 
Onondagas,  and  Mohawks,  to  give  entire  satisfac- 
tion and  reparation  to  his  subjects,  and  for  the 
future,  never  to  molest  fhem. 

"  The  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  Oneidas,  and 
Mohawks,  have  robbed  and  abused  all  the  traders 
that  were  passing  to  the  Illinois  and  Miamies,  and 
other  Indian  nations,  the  children  of  my  king.  They 
have  acted  on  these  occasions,  contrary  to  the  treaty 


'  \ 


0 


s:rt.«5? 


■^-aaraifii. 


■■i^^iiiJiu  «*i»»*.>i...... 


72 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


1: 


of  peace  with  my  predecessor.    I  am  ordered,  there- 
fore, to  demand  satisfaction,  and  to  tell  them,  that 
in  case  of  refusal,  or  their  plundering  us  any  more, 
that  I  have  express  orders  to  declare  war.     This 
belt  confirms  ray  words.     The  warriors  of  the  Five 
Nations  have  conducted  the  English  into  the  lakes, 
which  belong  to  the  king,  my  master,  and  brought 
the  English  among  the  nHtions  that  are  his  children, 
to  destroy  the  trade  of  his  subjects,  and  to  withdraw 
these  nations   from  him.     They  have  carried  the 
English  thither,  notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of 
the  late  governor  of  New -York,  who  foresaw  the 
risk  that  both  they  and  you  would  run.    I  am  wil- 
ling to  forget  those  things,  but  if  ever  the  like  shall 
happen   for  the   future,  I  have  express  orders  to 
declare  war  against  you.     This  belt  confirms  my 
words.    Your  warriors  have  made  several  barbarous 
incursions  on  the  Illinois  and  Miamies ;  they  have 
massacred  men,  women,  and  children,   and   have 
made  many  of  these  nations  prisoners,  who  thought 
themselves  safe  in  their  villages  in  time  of  peace ; 
these  people,  who  ce  my  king's  children,  must  not 
be  your  slaves  ;  you  must  give  them  their  liberty, 
and  send  them  back  into  their  own  country.     If  the 
Five  Nations  shall  refuse  to  do  this,  I  have  express 
orders  to  declare  war  against  them.     This  belt  con- 
firms my  words. 

"  This  is  what  I  have  to  say  to  Garrangula,  that 
he  may  carry  to  the  Senecas,  Onondagas,  Oneidas, 
Cayugas,  and  Mohawks,  the  declaration  which  the 
king,  my  master,  has  commanded  me  to  make.  He 
doth  not  wish  tliem  to  force  him  to  send  a  great  army 
to  Cadaracijui  Fort,  to  begin  a  war,  which  must  be 


h 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


78 


bf; 


fatal  to  them.  He  would  be  sorry  that  this  fort, 
that  teas  the  work  ofpea^e,  should  become  the  prison 
of  your  warriors.  Wo  must  endeavour,  on  both 
sides,  to  prevent  such  misfortunes.  Tb*^  French, 
who  are  the  brethren  and  friends  of  ihfc  Five  Na- 
tions, will  never  trouble  thei  >^po8e,  provided  that 
the  satisfaction  which  I  demand,  be  give%;  and  that 
the  treaties  of  peace  be  hereafter  observed.  I  shall 
be  extremely  grieved,  if  my  words  do  not  produce 
the  effect  which  I  expect  from  them  ;  for  thon  I 
shall  be  obliged  to  join  with  the  governor  of  New- 
York,  who  is  commanded  by  his  master  to  assist 
me,  and  burn  the  castles  of  the  Five  Nations,  and 
destroy  you.    This  belt  confirms  my  words. 

Ganangula  heard  these  threats  with  contempt, 
because  he  had  learnt  the  distressed  state  of  the 
French  army,  and  knew  that  they  were  incapable 
of  executing  the  designs  with  which  they  set  out ; 
and,  therefore,  after  walking  five  or  six  times  round 
the  circle,  he  answered  the  French  governor,  who 
sat  in  an  elbow  chair,  in  the  following  strain  : 

"  Yonnondio,  I  honour  you,  and  the  warriors  that 
are  with  me  likewise  honour  you.  Your  interpreter 
has  finished  your  speech  ;  I  now  begin  mine.  My 
words  make  haste  to  reach  your  ears  :  hearken  to 
them. 

"  Yonnondio,  you  must  have  believed,  when  you 
left  Quebec,  that  the  sun  had  burnt  up  all  the 
forests,  which  render  our  country  inaccessible  to 
the  French,  or  that  the  lakes  had  so  far  overflown 
tlie  banks,  that  they  had  surrounded  our  castles, 
and  that  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  get  out  of  them. 
Yes,  Yonnondio,  surely  you  must  have  dreamt  so, 
vol..  I.— 10 


fUr- 


74 


HIMTOUY    OF   NEW-YOKK. 


I 


^11 
It 


and  the  curiosity  of  seeing  so  great  a  wonder  has 
brought  you  so  far.  Now  you  are  undeceived ,  since 
that  I  and  the  warriors  here  present,  are  come  to 
assure  you,  that  the  Senecan  Opyijgas,  Oiiondagas, 
Oneidas,  and  Mohawks,  are  yet  alive.  I  thank 
you,  in  their  name^  for  bringing  back  into  their 
country  Uie  calumet,  which  your  predecessor  re- 
ceived from  their  hands.  It  was  happy  for  you, 
that  you  lefl  under  ground  that  murdering  hatchet 
that  has  been  so  often  dyed  in  the  blood  of  the 
French.  Hear,  Yonnondio,  I  do  not  sleep,  I  have 
my  eyes  open,  and  the  sun,  which  enlightens  me, 
discovers  to  me  a  great  captain  at  the  head  v>f  a 
company  of  soldiers,  who  speaks  as  if  he  were 
dreaming.  He  says  that  he  only  came  to  the  luke 
to  smoke  on  the  great  calumet  with  tlie  Onondagas. 
But  Garrangula  says,  that  he  sees  the  contrary, 
that  it  was  to  knock  them  on  the  head,  if  sickness 
had  not  weakened  ilie  arms  of  the  French. 

**  I  see  Yonnondio  raving  in  a  camp  of  sick  men, 
whose  lives  the  great  spirit  has  saved  by  inflicting 
this  sickness  on  them.  Bear,  Yonnondio,  our  women 
had  taken  their  clubi^,  our  children  and  old  men  had 
carried  their  bows  and  arn^ws  into  the  heart  of  your 
camp,  if  our  warriors  had  not  disarmed  them,  and 
kept  them  back,  when  your  messenger,  Ohguesse, 
came  to  our  castles.  It  is  done,  and  I  have  said  it. 
H?ar,  Yonnondio,  we  plundered  none  of  the  French, 
but  those  that  carried  guns,  powder,  and  ball  to  the 
Twightwies  and  Chictaghicks,  because  those  arms 
might  have  cost  us  our  lives.  Herein  we  follow  the 
example  of  the  Jesuits,  who  stave  all  the  kegs  of 
rum  brought  to  our  castles,  lest  the  drunken  Indians 


II18TOUY   OF    NKW-YOHK. 


76 


should  knock  them  on  the  head.  Our  warriors  have 
n\j>t  beaver  enough  to  pay  for  all  these;  arms  that 
they  have  taken,  and  our  old  men  are  not  afraid  of 
the  war.     This  belt  preserves  my  words. 

"  We  carried  the  English  into  our  lakes  to  trade 
there  with  the  Utawawas  and  Quatoghies,  as  the 
Adirondacks  brought  the  French  to  our  castl,  a,  to 
carry  on  the  trade,  which  the  English-  say  is  thcii-s. 
We  are  born  free  ;  we  neither  depend  oi  i  •  ^H'i 
nor  Corlear. 

"  We  may  go  where  wo  please,  and  h 

us  whom  we   please,  and  buy  and  sell  ^ 

please :  if  your  allies  be  your  slaves,  use  th  as 
such,  command  them  to  receive  no  other  but  your 
people.     This  belt  preserves  my  words. 

"  We  knocked  the  Twightwiea  and  Chictaghicks 
on  the  head,  because  they  had  cut  down  the  trees  of 
peace,  which  were  the  limits  of  our  country.  They 
have  hunted  beavers  on  our  lands :  they  have  acted 
contrary  to  the  customs  of  all  Indians ;  for  they  left 
none  of  the  beavers  alive,  they  killed  both  male  and 
female.  They  brought  the  Satanas*  into  the  coun- 
try to  take  part  with  them,  after  they  had  concerted 
ill  designs  against  us.  We  have  done  less  than 
either  the  English  or  French,  that  have  usurped  the 
lands  of  so  many  Indian  nations,  and  chased  them 
from  their  own  country.  This  belt  preserves  my 
words. 

"  Hear,  Yonnondio,  what  I  say  is  the  voice  of  all 
the  Five  Nations.  Hear  what  they  answer — open 
your  ears  to  what  they  speak.    The  Senecas,  Cayu- 


I 


*  By  the  French  called  Sauounons. 


.  ^t — •".fc.vilf:'" 


„*J»&5i; 


L;^crE»aj*s 


MM*  -^tyJ..,;,...,-.,, 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1^128     |2.5 

■50  *^^     MliH 

■^  IM  |2.2 
J!f  144  ""« 
1^0    111112.0 


1.8 


1.25    ||U   III  1.6 

< 

6"     

► 

jAv  %% 
4"*.% 


'/ 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  S73-4S03 


\ 


if 


/ 


f, 


<  i 


I      ! 


76 


HISTOIlY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


gas^  Onondagaa,  Oneidas,  and  MohaWks  say,  that 
when  they  buried  the  hatchet  at  Cadaracqui,  (in  the 
pi^sehoe  of  your  predecessor,)  in  the  middle  of  the 
forty  they  planted  the  tree  of  peace  in  the  same 
place,  to  be  there  carefully  preserved,  that  in  plaibe 
of  a  retreat  for  soldiers,  that  fort  might  be  a  ren- 
deETous  for  merchahts :  that  in  place  of  artns  and 
ammuhition  of  War,  beavers  and  merchandise  should 
CHily  enter  therti. 

**  Hear,  Yonnondio,  take  care  for  the  future,  that 
so  great  a  number  of  soldiers  as  appear  there  do  not 
choke  the  tree  of  peace  planted  in  so  small  a  fort. 
It  will  be  a  great  loss,  if,  after  it  had  so  easily  taken 
root>  yoii  should  stop  its  growth  and  prevent  its 
covering  your  country  and  ours  with  itd  branches. 
I  assure  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Five  Nations,  that 
our  warriora  shall  dance  to  the  calumet  of  peace 
under  its  leaves,  and  shall  remain  quiet  on  their 
lAatts,  and  s^.all  neVer  dig  up  the  hatchet  till  their 
brother  Yonnondio  or  Corlear  shall  either  jointly  or 
separately  endeavour  to  attack  the  country  which 
the  Great  Spirit  has  given  to  our  ancestors.  This 
belt  preserves  my  words,  and  this  other,  the  autho- 
rity which  the  Five  Nations  have  given  me." 

Then  Garriuigula,  addressing  himself  to  Monsieur 
La  Main,  said,  "  Take  courage  Ohguesse,  you  have 
8]f»i)^t,  speak,  explain  my  words,  forget  nothing,  tell 
all  that  your  brethren  and  friends  say  to  Yonnondio^ 
your  governor,  by  the  mouth  of  Garrangula,  who 
\oVeB  you,  and  desires  you  to  accept  of  this  present 
of  beaver  and  take  part  with  me  in  my  feast,  to 
which  I  invite  you.  This  present  of  beaver  is  sent 
to  Yonnondio,  on  the  jart  of  the  Five  Nations." 


V^WBfc-^ 


K^ainHrtXr-Viit^y.^-^ 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


n 


Entag^d  at  this  bold  reply,  De  la  Barfd,  as  soon 
as  the  peace  was  concluded,  retired  to  Montreal,  and 
ingloriously  finished  an  expensive  campaign,  as 
doctor  Golden  observes,  in  a  scold  with  aa  old 
Indian.  ^  -'■'''  ■  '-■^-■^''  v'  :-v^iS':<.-^,-'- 

De  la  Barre  was  succeeded  by  the  marquis  De 
Nonville,  colonel  of  the  dragoons,  who  arrived  with 
a  reinforcement  6f  troops  in  i6B5.  I'he  marquis 
was  a  man  of  courage  and  an  enterprising  spirit, 
and  not  a  little  animated  by  the  consideration  that 
he  Was  sent  over  to  repair  the  disgrace  which  his 
predecessor  had  brought  upon  the  French  colony. 
The  year  after  his  arrival  at  Quebec,  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  minister  in  France,  recommending  the 
scheme  of  erecting  a  stone  fort  sufficient  to  contain 
four  or  five  hundred  men,  at  Niagara,  not  only  to 
exclude  the  English  from  the  lakes,  but  to  commcuid 
the  fiir  trade  and  subdue  the  Five  Nations  Dongan, 
who  was  jealous  of  his  designs,  took  umbrage  at 
the  extraordinary  supplies  sent  to  Fort  Frontenac, 
and  wrote  to  the  French  governor,  signifying 
that  if  he  attacked  the  Confederates,  he  would 
consider  it  as  a  breach  of  the  peace  subsisting 
between  the  two  crowns ;  and  to  prevent  his  build- 
ing a  fort  at  Niagara,  he  protested  against  it,  and 
claimed  the  country  as  dependent  upon  the  province. 
De  Nonvili3,  in  his  answer,  denied  that  he  intended 
to  invade  the  Five  Nations,  though  the  necessary 
preparations  for  that  purpose  were  then  carrying 
on,  and  yet  Charlevoix  commends  him  for  his  {uety 
and  uprightness,  "  egalement  estimable  (says  the 
Jesuit,)  pour  sa  valeuv^  sa  droiture,  et  sa  pieti" 
Colonel  Dongan,  who  knew  the  importance  of  our 


] 


l,^.i^-^-r*-»- 


Sslii^^iis.: 


78 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


u     ^ 


f  i 


Indian  alliance,  placed  no  confidence  in  the  decla- 
rations of  the  marquis,  but  exerted  himself  in  pre- 
paring the  Confederates  for  a  war;  and  the  French 
author  just  mentioned,  does  him  honour,  while  he 
complains  of  him  as  a  perpetual  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  the  execution  of  their  schemes.  Our  allies  were 
now  triumphing  in  their  success  over  the  Chig- 
taghics,  and  meditating  a  war  with  the  Twightwies, 
who  had  disturbed  them  in  their  beaver-hunting. 
De  Nonville,  to  prevent  the  interruption  of  the 
French  trade  with  the  Twightwies,  determined  to 
divert  the  Five  Nations,  and  carry  the  war  into  their 
country.  To  that  end,  in  1687,  he  collected  two 
thousand  troops  and  six  hundred  Indians  at  Mon- 
treal, and  issued  orders  to  all  the  officers  in  the 
more  westerly  country,  to  meet  him  with  additional 
succours  at  Niagara,  on  an  expedition  against  the 
Senecas.  An  English  party  under  one  M'Gregory, 
at  the  same  time  was  gone  out  to  trade  on  the  lakes, 
but  the  French,  notwithstanding  the  peace  then 
subsisting  between  the  two  cro'vns,  intercepted 
them,  seized  effects  and  imprisoned  their  per-f 

sons.  MouHiuUi  Tonti,  commandant  among  the 
Chictaghics,  who  was  coming  to  the  gener^rs  ren-f 
dezvous  at  Niagara,  did  the  like  to  another  English 
party  which  he  met  with  in  lake  Erie.*  The  Five 
Nations,  in  the  mean  time,  were  preparing  to  give 
the  French  army  a  suitable  reception.  Monsieur 
Companie,  with  two  or  three  hundred  Canadians  in 
an  advanced  party  surprised  two  villages  of  the 

'I'  Both  thnw  attacks  were  open  infhtctions  of  the  treaty  at  WhitehaU,  executed 
in  Norember,  1686 ;  by  which  it  was  agreed,  that  the  Indian  trade  in  America, ' 
■honid  be  free  to  the  English  and  French,      v.  .     i.   .^'j 


«^' 


"-Tias?"" 


!     I     .  ' 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


*.*• 


Confederates,  who,  at  the  invitation  and  on  the  faith 
of  the  French,  seated  themselves  down  about  eight 
leagues  from  lake  Cadaracqui  or  Ontario.  To  pre- 
vent their  escape  with  intelligence  to  their  country- 
men, they  were  carried  to  the  fort,  apd  all  but 
thirteen  died  in  torments  at  the  stake,  singing  with 
an  heroic  spirit,  in  their  expiring  moments,  the 
perfidy  of  the  French.  The  rest,  according  to  the 
express  orders  of  the  French  king,  were  sent  to 
the  galleys  in  Europe.  The  marquis  having  em- 
barked his  whole  army  in  canoes,  set  out  from  the 
fort  at  Cadaracqui  on  the  23d  of  June,  one  half  of 
them  passing  along  the  north,  and  the  other  on  the 
south  side  of  the  lake;  and  both  arrived  the  same  day 
at  Tyrondequait,  and  shortly  after  set  out  on  their 
march  towards  the  chief  village  of  the  Senecas,  at 
about  seven  leagues  distance.  The  main  body  was 
composed  of  the  regulars  and  militia;  the  front  and 
«ear  of  the  Indians  and  traders.  The  scouts  ad- 
vanced the  second  day  of  their  march,  as  far  as  the 
com  of  the  village,  and  within  pistol-sfiot  of  five  hun- 
dred Senecas,  who  lay  upon  their  bellies  undisco- 
vered. The  French,  who  imagined  the  enemy  were 
all  fled,  quickened  their  march  to  overtake  the  women 
and  old  men.  But  no  sooner  had  they  reached  the 
foot  of  a  hill,  about  a  mile  from  the  village,  than 
the  Senecas  raised  the  war  shout,  and  in  the  same 
instant  charged  upon  the  whole  army  both  in  the 
front  and  rear.  Universal  confusion  ensued.  The 
battalions  divided,  fired  upon  each  other,  and  flew 
into  the  wood.  The  Senecas  improved  the  dis- 
order of  the  enemy,  till  they  were  repulsed  by  the 
French  Indians.    According  to  Charlevoix's  ac- 


)r> 


isui;:;:,^:^;^;;**^''^"'*^^ 


itrt'»r"^'^r*'*'*"'»ir»'"  I 


80 


HISTORY  OF  NEW'YORK. 


%  ■■■ 


count,  which  may  justly  be  suspected,  the  enemy 
lost  but  six  men,  and  had  twenty  wounded  in  the  con- 
flict.   Of  the  Senecas,  he  says,  sixty  were  wounded 
and  foity*five  slain.     The  marquis  was  so  much  dis- 
pirited, that  he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  pursue 
the  enemy  that  day ;  which  gave  the  Benecas  an 
opportunity  to  bum  their  village  and  get  off.    Two 
old  men  remained  in  the  castle  to  receive  the  gene- 
ral, and  regale  the  barbarity  of  his  Indian  allies. 
After  destroying  the  corn  in  this  and  several  other 
villages,  the  army  retired  to  the  banks  of  the  lake, 
and  erected  a  fort  with  four  bastions  on  the  southi> 
east  side  of  the  straits  at  Niagara,  in  which  they 
left  one  hundred  men,  under  the  command  of  Le 
Chevalier  de  la  Troye,  with  eight  months'  provisions; 
but  these  being  closely  blocked  up,  all,  except  seven 
or  eight  of  them,  who  were  accidentally  relieved, 
perished  through  famine.*    Soon  after  this  expedi- 
tion, colonel  Dongan  met  the  Five  Nations  at 
Albany.    To  what  intent,  appears  from  the  speech 
he  made  to  them  on  the  5th  of  August,  which  I 
choose  to  lay  before  the  reader,  to  show  his  vigi- 
lance and  zeal  for  the  interest  of  his  master,  and 
the  common  weal  of  the  province  committed  to  his 

care.  ■  '--'■.  ■■     -^   --<    •    -■■.''■.:■';-'■.■:  k-r  ' 

''Brethren,  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you  heio  in 
this  house,  and  am  heartily  glad  that  you  have 


^^m-  ,p>  » f5ji'r;Si-.:vis^aV:  ■'iihCf. 


H9!.f 


:j»j. 


*  Nothing  cut  be  mon  perfidiou*  and  unjust,  <Jian  thii  attack  upon  our 
CoofadentM.  The  two  crowns  had  but  just  concluded  a  treaty  for  the  preser* 
Tation  of  the  peace.  La  Hontan,  one  of  the  French  historians  censures  De 
Wonrile^i  oonduct,  and  admils  tlie  British  title  to  the  comaiand  of  the  lakes,  but 
Ch«4efoix  Uamas  him,  as  be  does  Hennepin,  De  Lisle,  and  every  other  author, 
who  conii^aBefl  the  truth,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  ambitious  claims  of  the  court 
ofFranoe. 


-      '■■/•^yUl. 


M^ta* 


Tliil'  ■iiili»ii»1i  |l>1[St.''P''''*''f;*^-'~ 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YOHK. 


at 


sustained  no  greater  loss  by  the  French,  though  I 
believe  it  was  their  intention  to  destroy  you  all,  if 
they  could  have  surprised  you  in  your  castles.  •  <'k 
<  "As  soon  as  I  heard  their  design  to  war  with 
you,  I  gave  you  notice,  and  came  up  hither  myself, 
that  I  might  be  ready  to  give  all  the  assistance  and 
advice  that  so  short  a  tiaie  would  allow  me.  ■-•^ 

*'  I  am  now  about  sending  a  gentleman  to  Eng- 
land, to  the  king,  my  master,  to  let  him  know,  that 
the  French  have  invaded  his  territories  on  this  side 
of  the  great  Lake,  and  warred  upon  the  brethren, 
his  subjects.  I,  therefore,  would  willingly  know, 
whether  the  brethren  have  given  the  governor  of 
Canada  any  provocation  or  not ;  and  if  they  have, 
how,  and  in  what  manner ;  because  I  am  obliged  to 
give  a  true  account  of  this  matter.  This  business 
may  cause  a  war  between  the  king  of  England,  and 
the  French  king,  both  in  Europe  and  here,  and 
therefore  I  must  know  the  truth. 

"  I  know  the  governor  of  Canada  dare  not  enter 
into  the  king  of  England's  territories,  in  a  hostile 
manner,  without  provocation,  if  he  thought  the 
brethren  were  the  king  of  England's  subjects ;  but 
you  have,  two  or  three  years  ago,  made  a  covenant- 
chain  with  the  French,  contrary  to  my  command, 
which  I  knew  could  not  hold  long,  being  void  of 
itself  among  Christians ;  for  as  much  as  subjects 
(as  you  are)  ought  not  to  treat  with  any  foreign 
nation,  it  not  lying  in  your  power.  You  have 
brought  this  trouble  on  yourselves,  and,  as  I  believe, 
this  is  the  only  reason  of  their  falling  on  you  at  this 


I 


time. 


VOL.  I. — 1 1 


^A 


.  ■fViiS*-****'"*''**!^ 


82 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


**  Brethren,  I  took  it  very  ill,  that  after  you  had 
put  yourselves  into  the  number  of  the  great  king  of 
England's  subjects,  you  should  ever  offer  to  make 
peace  or  war,  without  my  consent.  You  know  that 
we  can  live  without  you,  but  you  cannot  live  with- 
out us ;  you  never  found  that  I  told  you  a  lie,  and  I 
offered  you  the  assistance  you  wanted,  provided 
that  you  would  be  advised  by  me ;  for  I  know  the 
French  better  than  any  of  you  do. 

"  Now  since  there  is  a  war  begun  upon  you  by 
the  governor  of  Canada,  I  hope  without  any  provo- 
cation by  you  given,  1  desire  and  command  you, 
that  you  hearken  to  no  treaty  but  by  my  advice ; 
which  if  you  follow,  you  shall  have  the  benefit  of 
the  great  chain  of  friendship  between  the  great 
king  of  England,  and  the  king  of  France,  which 
came  out  of  England  the  other  day,  and  which  I 
have  sent  to  Canada  by  Anthony  le  Junard ;  in  the 
mean  time,  I  will  give  you  such  advice  as  will  be 
for  your  good ;  and  will  supply  you  with  such 
necessaries  as  you  will  have  need  of. 

'*  Ist.  My  advice  is,  as  to  what  prisoners  of  the 
French  you  shall  take,  that  you  draw  not  their 
blood,  but  bring  them  home,  and  keep  them  to 
exchange  for  your  people,  which  they  have  prisoners 
already,  or  may  take  hereafter. 

"  2dly.  That,  if  it  be  possible  that  you  can  order 
it  so,  I  would  fiave  you  take  one  or  two  of  your 
wisest  sachems,  and  one  or  two  of  your  chief 
captains  of  each  nation,  to  be  a  council  to  manage 
all  affairs  of  the  war.  They  to  give  orders  to  the 
rest  of  the  officers  what  they  are  to  do,  that  your 


V 


'■^m^. 


..jiSKS!,!^ 


IIISTOKY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


89 


designs  may  be  kept  private ;  tor  afler  it  comes 
among  so  many  people,  it  is  blazed  abroad,  and  your 
designs  are  oflen  frustrated ;  and  those  chief  men 
should  keep  a  correspondence  with  me  by  a  trusty 
messenger.  —         .,    -, 

"  3dly.  The  great  matter  under  consideration 
with  the  brethren  is,  how  to  strengthen  themselvesy 
and  weaken  their  enemy.  My  opinion  is,  that  the 
brethren  should  send  messengers  to  the  Utawawas, 
Twightwies,^  and  the  farther  Indians,  and  to  send 
back  likewise  some  of  the  prisoners  of  these  na- 
tions, if  you  have  any  left,  to  bury  the  hatchet,  and 
to  make  a  covenant-chain,  that  they  may  put  away 
all  the  French  that  are  among  them,  and  that  you 
will  open  a  path  for  them  this  way  (they  being  the 
king  of  England's  subjects  likewise,  though  the 
French  have  been  admitted  to  trade  with  them ;  for 
all  that  the  French  have  in  Canada,  they  had  it  of 
the  great  king  of  England,)  that,  by  that  means, 
they  may  come  hither  freely,  where  they  may  have 
every  thing  cheaper  than  among  the  French  :  that 
you  and  they  may  join  together  against  the  French, 
and  make  so  firm  a  league,  that  whoever  is  an 
enemy  to  one,  must  be  to  both. 

**4thly.  An(  ?  «r  thing  of  concern  is,  that  you 
ought  to  do  what  you  can  to  open  a  path  for  all  the 
north  Indians  and  Mahikanders  that  are  among  the 
Utawawas  and  further  nations.  I  will  endeavour  to 
do  the  same  to  bring  them  home.  For,  they  not 
daring  to  return  home  your  way,  the  French  keep 
them  there  on  purpose  to  join  with  the  other  nations 
against  you,  for  your  destruction ;  for  you  know  that 
one  of  them  is  worse  than  six  of  the  others ;  there- 


[pi;i^L"^^^£:1toag3£a 


I^.__k. 


84 


IIIHTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


fore  all  means  must  be  used  to  bring  them  home, 
and  use  them  kindly  as  they  pass  through  your 
country. 

"5thly.  My  advice  further  is,  that  messengers 
go,  in  behalf  of  all  the  Five  Nations,  to  the  Christian 
Indians  at  Canada,  to  persuade  them  to  come  home 
to  their  native  country.  This  will  be  another  great 
means  to  weaken  your  enemy ;  but  if  they  will  not 
be  advised,  you  know  what  to  do  with  them. 

"  6thly.  I  think  it  very  necessary,  .for  the  bre- 
thren's security  and  assistance,  and  to  the  enda- 
maging the  French,  to  build  a  fort  upon  the  lake, 
where  I  may  keep  stores  and  provisions  in  case  of 
necessity ;  and  therefore  I  would  have  the  brethren 
let  me  know  what  place  will  be  most  convenient 
for  it. 

*'  7thly.  I  would  not  have  the  brethren  keep  their 
corn  in  their  castles,  as  I  hear  the  Onondagas  do, 
but  bury  it  a  great  way  in  the  woods,  where  few 
people  may  know  where  it  is,  for  fear  of  such  an 
accident  as  has  happened  to  the  Senecas. 

"  8thly.  I  have  given  my  advice  in  your  general 
assembly,  by  Mr.  Dirk  Wessels  and  Akus,  the 
interpreter,  how  you  are  to  manage  your  parties, 
and  how  necessary  it  is  to  get  prisoners,  to  exchange 
for  your  own  men  that  are  prisoners  with  the  French, 
and  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  brethren  are  so 
united  as  Mr.  Dirk  Wessels  tells  me  you  are,  and 
that  there  was  no  rotten  members  nor  French  spies 
among  you. 

"  9thly.  The  brethren  may  remember  my  advice, 
which  I  sent  you  this  spring,  not  to  go  to  Cada- 
racqui;  if  you  had,  they  would  have  served  you,  as 


■'i'^^liM^iL*^.. 


3ri; 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


85 


they  did  your  people  that  came  from  hunting  thither, 
for  I  told  you  that  I  know  the  French  better  than 
you  did.  - . 

"  lOthly.  There  was  no  advice  or  proposition 
that  I  made  to  the  brethren  all  the  time  that  the 
priest  lived  at  Onondaga,  but  what  he  wrote  to 
Canada,  as  I  found  by  one  of  his  letters,  which  he 
gave  to  an  Indian  to  carry  to  Canada,  but  which 
was  brought  hither ;  therefore,  I  desire  the  brethren 
not  to  receive  him,  or  any  French  priest  any  more, 
having  sent  for  English  priests,  with  whom  you 
may  be  supplied  to  your  content. 

"Uthly.  I  would  have  the  brethren  look  out 
sharp,  for  fear  of  being  surprised.  I  believe  all  the 
strength  of  the  French  will  be  at  their  frontier 
places,  viz.  at  Cadaracqui  and  Oniagara.  where  they 
have  built  a  fort  now,  and  at  Trois  Rivieres,  Mon- 
treal, and  Chambly. 

"  12thly.  Let  me  put  you  in  mind  again,  not  to 
make  any  treaties  without  my  means,  which  will  be 
more  advantageous  for  you,  than  your  doing  it  by 
yourselves,  for  then  you  will  be  looked  upon  as  the 
king  of  England's  subjects ;  and  let  me  know,  from 
time  to  time,  every  thing  that  is  done.  ' 

"  Thus  far  I  have  spoken  to  you  relating  to  the 


»» 


war. 

Not  long  after  this  interview,  a  considerable 
party  of  Mohawks  and  Mahikanders,  or  River  In- 
dians, beset  Fort  Chambly,  burnt  several  houses, 
and  returned  with  many  captives  to  Albany.  Forty 
Onondagas,  about  the  same  time,  surprised  a  few 
soldiers  near  Fort  Frontenac,  whom  they  confined 
instead  of  the  Indians  sent  home  to  the  galleys, 


•■■'^'itf' 


1II8TORY  OF   NEW- YORK. 


I  ! 


notwithstanding  the  utmost  address  was  used  to 
regain  thorn,  by  Lamberville,  a  French  priest,  who 
delivered  them  two  belts,  to  engage  their  kindness 
to  the  prisomtrs,  and  prevent  their  joining  the 
quarrel  with  the  Senecas.  The  belts  being  sent  to 
colonel  Dongan,  he  wrote  to  De  Nonville,  to  demand 
the  reason  of  their  being  delivered.  Pere  le  Vail- 
lant  was  sent  here  about  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1688,  under  colour  of  bringing  an  answer,  but  in 
reality  as  a  spy.  Colonel  Dongan  told  him,  that 
no  peace  could  be  made  with  the  Five  Nations, 
unless  the  Indians  sent  to  the  Galleys,  and  the 
Caghnuaga  proselytes  were  returned  to  their  re- 
spective cantons,  the  forts  at  Niagara  and  Frontenac 
razed,  and  the  Senecas  had  satisfaction  made  them 
for  the  damage  they  had  sustained.  The  Jesuit,  in 
his  return,  was  ordered  not  to  visit  the  Mohawks. 

Dongan,  who  was  fully  sensible  of  the  importance 
of  the  Indian  interest  to  the  English  colonies,  was 
for  compelling  the  French  to  apply  to  him  in  all 
their  affairs  with  the  Five  Nations ;  while  they,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  for  treating  with  them  inde- 
pendent of  the  English.  For  this  reason,  among 
others,  he  refused  them  the  assistance  they  fre- 
quently required,  till  they  acknowledged  the  de- 
pendence of  the  Confederates  on  the  English  crown. 
King  James,  a  poor  bigotted,  popish,  priest-ridden 
prince,  ordered  his  governor  to  give  up  this  point, 
and  to  persuade  the  Five  Nations  to  send  messen- 
gers to  Canada,  to  receive  proposals  of  peace  from 
the  French.  For  this  purpose,  a  cessation  of  arms 
and  mutual  le-delivery  of  prisoners  was  agreed  upon. 
Near  1,200  of  the  Confederates  attended  this  ne- 


"  "^  '     ^"^^VWjftM|^^^5*E2*^  '*••— 


MIRTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


•7 


gotiation  at  Montreal,  and  in  their  speech  to  De 
Nonville,  insisted  with  great  resolution,  upon  the 
terms  proposed  by  colonel  Dongan  to  father  Le 
Vaillant-  The  French  governor  declared  his  wil- 
lingness to  put  an  end  to  the  war,  if  all  his  allies 
might  be  included  in  the  treaty  of  peace,  if  the 
Mohawks  and  Benecas  would  send  deputies  to 
signify  their  concurrence,  and  the  French  might 
supply  Fort  Frontenac  with  provisions.  The  Con- 
federates, according  to  the  French  accounts,  acceded 
to  these  conditions,  and  the  treaty  was  ratified  in 
the  field.  But  a  new  rupture  not  long  afler  ensued, 
from  a  cause  entirely  unsuspected.  The  Dinon- 
dadies  had  lately  inclined  to  the  English  trade  at 
Missilimakinac,  and  their  alliance  was  therefore 
become  suspected  by  the  French.  Adario,  their 
chief,  thought  to  regain  the  ancient  confidence, 
which  had  been  reposed  in  his  countrymen,  by  a 
notable  action  against  the  Five  Nations;  and  for 
that  purpose  put  himself  at  the  head  of  one  hundred 
men.  Nothing  was  more  disagreeable  to  him,  than 
the  prospect  of  peace  between  the  French  and  the 
Confederates ;  for  that  event  would  not  only  render 
the  amity  of  the  Dinondadies  useless,  but  give  the 
French  an  opportunity  of  resenting  their  late  fa- 
vourable conduct  towards  the  English.  Impressed 
with  these  sentiments,  out  of  affection  to  his  country, 
he  intercepted  the  ambassadors  of  the  Five  Nations, 
at  one  of  the  falls  in  Cadaracqui  river,  killed  some, 
and  took  others  prisoners,  telling  them  that  the 
French  governor  had  informed  him,  that  fifty  war- 
riors of  the  Five  Nations  were  coming  that  way.  As 
the  Dinondadies  and  Confederates  were  then  at  war, 


■^z-':i,- 


88 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YOKK. 


/;■ 


the  ambassadors  were  astonished  at  the  perfidy  of 
the  French  governor,  and  could  fiot  help  commu- 
nicating the  design  of  their  journey.  Adario,  in 
prosecution  of  his  crafty  scheme,  counterfeited  the 
utmost  distress,  anger,  and  shame,  on  being  made 
the  ignominious  tool  of  De  Nonville's  treachery, 
and  addressing  himself  to  Dekanesora,  the  principal 
ambassador,  said  to  him,  <*  Go,  my  brethren,  1  untie 
your  bonds,  and  send  you  home  again,  though  our 
nations  be  at  wdr.  The  French  governor  has  made 
me  commit  so  black  an  action,  that  I  shall  never  be 
easy  after  it,  till  the  Five  Nations  shall  have  taken 
full  revenge."  This  outrage  and  indignity  upon  the 
rights  of  ambassadors,  the  truth  of  which  they  did 
not  in  the  least  doubt,  animated  the  Confederates 
to  the  keenest  thirst  after  revenge ;  and,  accordingly, 
1,200  of  their  men,  on  the  26th  of  July,  1688,  landed 
on  the  south  side  of  the  island  of  Montreal,  while 
the  French  were  in  perfect  security;  burnt  their 
houses,  sacked  their  plantations,  and  put  to  the 
sword  all  the  men,  women,  and  children,  without 
the  skirts  of  the  town.  A  thousand  French  were 
sledn  in  this  invasion,  and  twenty-six  carried  into 
captivity,  and  burnt  alive.  Many  more  were  made 
prisoners  in  another  attack  in  October,  and  the 
lower  part  of  the  island  wholly  destroyed.  Only 
three  of  the  Confederates  were  lost,  in  all  this  scene 
of  misery  and  desolation.^ 
Never  before  did  Canada  sustain  such  a  heavy 


i     '\ 


*  I  have  followed  Dr.  Coldon  in  the  account  of  this  attack,  who  diiTera  from 
Charlevoix.  That  Jesuit  *je\]a  us,  that  the  invasion  was  late  in  August,  and  the 
Indians  1500  strong ;  and  as  to  the  loss  of  the  French,  he  diminishes  it  only  to 
tfl(o  hundred  souls. 


.:^- 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


89 


in 


blow.  The  news  of  this  attack  on  Montreal  no 
sooner  reached  the  garrison  at  the  Lake  OntariOi 
than  they  set  fire  to  the  two  barks,  which  they  had 
built  there,  and  abando'  od  the  fort,  leaving  a  match 
to  twenty-eight  barrels  of  powder,  designed  to  blow 
up  the  works.  The  soldiers  went  down  the  river 
in  such  precipitation,  that  one  of  the  battoes  and 
her  crew  were  all  lost  in  shooting  a  fall.  The 
Confederates,  in  the  mean  time,  seised  the  fort,  the 
powder,  and  the  stores ;  and  of  all  the  French  allies, 
who  were  vastly  numerous,  only  the  Nepicirinians 
and  Kiapous  adhered  to  them  in  their  calamities. 
The  Utawawas,  and  seven  other  nations,  instantly 
made  peace  with  the  English ;  and  but  for  the  un- 
common sagacity  and  address  of  the  Sieur  Perot, 
the  Western  Indians  would  have  murdered  every 
Frenchman  amongst  them.  Nor  did  the  distresses 
of  the  Canadians  end  here.  Numerous  scouts  from 
the  Five  Nations,  continually  infested  their  borders. 
The  frequent  depredations  that  were  made,  pre- 
vented them  from  the  cultivation  of  their  fields,  and 
a  distressing  famine  raged  through  the  whole  coun- 
try. Nothing  but  the  ignorance  of  the  Indians,  in 
the  art  of  attacking  fortified  places,  saved  Canada 
from  being  now  utterly  cut  off.  It  was,  therefore, 
unspeakably  fortunate  to  the  French,  that  the  In- 
dians had  no  assistance  from  the  English,  and  as 
unfortunate  to  us,  that  our  colonies  were  then  in- 
capable of  affording  succours  to  the  Confederates, 
through  the  malignant  influence  of  those  execrable 
measures,  which  were  pursued  under  the  infamous 
reign  of  king  James  the  second.  Colonel  Dongan, 
whatever  his  conduct  might  have  been  in  civil  affairs, 

VOL.  I. — 12 


iJH»i*'**f 


J 


|i  .    ' 


^li 


90 


HISTORY  OP  IVEW-VORIv. 


did  all  that  he  could  in  those  relating  to  the  In- 
dians, and  fell  at  last  into  the  king^s  displeasure, 
through  his  zeal  for  the  true  interest  of  the  province. 
While  these  things  were  transacting  in  Canada, 
a  scene  of  the  greatest  importance  was  opening  at 
New- York.  A  general  disaffection  to  the  govern- 
ment prevailed  among  the  people.  Papists  began 
to  settle  in  the  colony  under  the  smiles  of  the  go- 
vernor. The  collector  of  the  revenues,  and  several 
principal  officers,  threw  off  the  mask,  and  openly 
avowed  their  attachment  to  the  doctrines  of  Rome. 
A  Latin  school  was  set  up,  and  the  teacher  strongly 
suspected  for  a  Jesuit.  The  people  of  Long  Island, 
who  were  disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  mighty 
boons  promised  by  the  governor  on  his  arrival, 
were  become  his  personal  enemies ;  and  in  a  word, 
the  whole  body  of  the  people  trembled  for  the 
Protestant  cause.  Here  the  leaven  of  opposition 
first  began  to  work.  Their  intelligence  from  Eng- 
land, of  the  designs  there  in  favour  of  the  prince  of 
Orange,  blew  up  the  coals  of  discontent,  and  elevated 
the  hopes  of  the  disaffected.  But  no  man  dared  to 
spring  into  action,  till  after  the  rupture  in  Boston. 
Sir  Edmund  Andross,  who  was  perfectly  devoted 
to  the  arbitrary  measures  of  king  James,  by  his 
tyranny  in  New-England,  had  drawn  upon  himself 
the  universal  odium  of  a  people,  animated  with  the 
love  of  liberty,  and  in  the  defence  of  it  resolute  and 
courageous ;  and,  therefore,  when  they  could  no 
longer  endure  his  despotic  rule,  they  seized  and 
imprisoned  him,  and  afterwards  sent  him  to  Eng- 
land. The  government,  in  the  mean  time,  was 
vested  in  the  hands  of  a  committee  for  the  safety 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


91 


of  the  people,  of  which  Mr.  Bradstreet  was  chosen 
president.  Upon  the  news  of  this  event,  several 
captains  of  our  militia  convened  themselves  to  con- 
cert measures  in  favour  of  the  prince  of  Orange. 
Amongst  these,  Jacob  Leisler  was  the  most  active. 
He  was  a  man  in  tolerable  esteem  among  the 
people,  and  of  a  moderate  fortune,  but  destitute  of 
every  qualification  necessary  for  the  enterprise. 
Milborne,  his  son-in-law,  an  Englishman,  directed 
all  his  councils,  while  Leisler  as  absolutely  influ- 
enced the  other  officers. 

The  first  thing  they  contrived,  was  to  seize  the 
garrison  in  New- York ;  and  the  custom,  at  that 
time,  of  guarding  it  every  night  by  the  militia,  gave 
Leisler  a  fine  opportunity  of  executing  the  design. 
He  entered  it  with  forty-nine  men,  and  determined 
to  hold  it  till  the  whole  militia  should  join  him. 
Colonel  Dongan,  who  was  about  to  leave  the  pro- 
vince, then  lay  embarked  in  the  bay,  having  a  little 
before  resigned  the  government  to  Francis  Nichol- 
son, the  lieutenant-governor.  The  council,  civil 
officers,  and  magistrates  of  the  city,  were  against 
Leisler,  and  therefore  many  of  his  friends  were 
at  first  fearful  of  openly  espousing  a  cause  disap- 
proved by  the  gentlemen  of  figure.  For  this  reason, 
Leisler's  first  declaration  in  favour  of  the  prince 
of  Orange,  was  subscribed  only  by  a  few,  among 
several  companies  of  the  trained  bands.  While  the 
people,  for  four  days  successively,  were  in  the 
utmost  perplexity  to  determine  what  part  to  choose, 
being  solicited  by  Leisler  on  the  one  hand,  and 
threatened  by  the  Heutenant-governor  on  the  other, 
the  town  was  alarmed  with  a  report,  that  three 


am-^-'t-'> ' 


92 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


I 


If     Wty 


isi     V 


ships  were  coming  up  with  orders  from  the  prince 
of  Orange.  This  falsehood  was  very  seasonably 
propagated  to  serve  the  interest  of  Leisler ;  for  on 
that  day,  the  3d  of  June,  1689,  his  party  was  aug- 
mented by  the  addition  of  six  captains  and  four 
hundred  men  in  New- York,  and  a  company  of 
seventy  men  from  East-Chester,  who  all  subscribed 
a  second  declaration,*  mutually  covenanting  to  hold 
the  fort  for  the  prince.  Colonel  Dongan  continued 
till  this  time  in  the  harbour,  waiting  the  issue  of 
these  commotions ;  and  Nicholson's  party,  being 
now  unable  to  contend  with  their  opponents,  were 
totally  dispersed,  the  lieutenant-governor  himself 
absconding,  the  very  night  after  the  last  declaration 
was  signed. 

Leisler  being  now  in  complete  possession  of  the 
fort,  sent  home  an  address  to  king  William  and 
queen  Mary,  as  soon  as  he  received  the  news  of 
their  accession  to  the  throne.  It  is  a  tedious,  in- 
correct, ill-drawn  narrative  of  the  grievances  which 
the  people  had  endured,  and  the  methods  lately 
taken  to  secure  themselves,  ending  with  a  recog- 
nition of  the  sovereignty  of  the  king  and  queen  over 
the  whole  English  dominions. 

This  address  was  soon  followed  by  a  private  letter 
from  Leisler  to  king  William,  which,  in  very  broken 
English,  informs  his  majesty  of  the  state  of  the 
garrison,  the  repairs  he  had  made  to  it,  and  the 
temper  of  the  people,  and  concludes  with  strong 
protestations  of  his  sincerity,  loyalty,  and  zeal. 
Jost  3toll,  an  ensign,  on  the  delivery  of  this  letter 


See  note  1 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


93 


to  the  king,  had  the  honour  to  kiss  his  majesty's 
hand,  but  Nicholson,  the  lieutenant-goveraor,  and 
one  Ennis,  an  episcopal  clergyman,  arrived  in 
England  before  him ;  and  by  falsely  representing 
the  late  measures  in  New- York,  as  proceeding 
rather  from  their  aversion  to  the  Church  of  England, 
than  zeal  for  the  prince  of  Orange,  Leisler  and  his 
party  missed  the  rewards  and  notice,  which  their 
activity  for  the  revolution  justly  deserved.  For 
though  the  king  made  StoU  the  bearer  of  his  thanks 
to  the  people  for  their  fidelity,  he  so  little  regarded 
Leisler's  complaints  against  Nicholson,  that  he  was 
soon  after  preferred  to  the  government  of  Virginia. 
Dongan  returned  to  Ireland,  and  it  is  said  succeeded 
to  the  earldom  of  Limerick. 

Leisler's  sudden  investiture  with  supreme  power 
over  the  province,  and  the  probable  prospects  of 
king  William's  approbation  of  his  conduct,  could 
not  but  excite  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  the  late 
council  and  magistrates,  who  had  refused  to  join 
in  the  glorious  work  of  the  revolution ;  and  hence 
the  spring  of  all  their  aversion,  both  to  the  man 
and  his  measures.  Colonel  Bayard,  and  Courtland, 
the  mayor  of  the  city,  were  at  the  head  of  his  op- 
ponents, and  finding  it  impossible  to  raise  a  party 
against  him  in  the  city,  they  very  early  retired  to 
Albany,  and  thei-e  endeavoured  to  foment  the  oppo- 
sition. Leisler,  on  the  other  hand,  fearful  of  their 
influence,  and  to  extinguish  the  jealousy  of  the 
people,  thought  it  prudent  to  admit  several  trusty 
persons  to  a  participation  of  that  power,  which  the 
militia,  on  the  Ist  of  July,  had  committed  solely  to 
himself.    In  conjunction  with  these,  (who,  after  the 


m 


n 


94 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


Boston  example,  were  called  The  Committee  of 
Safety,)  he  exercised  the  government,  assuming  to 
himself  only,  the  honour  of  being  president  in  their 
councils.  This  model  continued  till  the  month  of 
December,  when  a  packet  arrived  with  a  letter  from 
the  lords  Carmarthen,  Halifax,  and  others,  directed 
"  To  Francis  Nicholson,  Esq.,  or  in  his  absence,  to 
such  as  for  the  time  being,  take  care  for  preserving 
the  peace  and  administering  the  laws,  in  their  ma- 
jesties' province  of  New- York,  in  America."  This 
letter  was  dated  the  29th  of  July,  and  was  accom- 
panied with  another  from  lord  Nottingham,  dated 
the  next  day,  which  after  empowering  Nicholson  to 
take  upon  him  the  chief  command,  and  to  appoint 
for  his  assistance  as  many  of  the  principal  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  as  he  should  think  fit, 
requiring  also  "  to  do  every  thing  appertaining  to  the 
office  of  lieutenant-governor,  according  to  the  laws 
and  customs  of  New- York,  until  further  orders." 

Nicholson  being  absconded  when  this  packet 
came  to  hand,  Leisler  considered  the  letter  as 
directed  to  himself,  and  from  this  time  issued  all 
kinds  of  commissions  in  his  own  name,  assuming 
the  title,  as  well  as  authority,  of  lieutenant-governor. 
On  the  11th  of  December,  he  summoned  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  and  agreeable  to  their  advice, 
swore  the  following  persons  for  his  council: — 
Peter  de  Lanoy,  Samuel  Staats,  Hendrick  Jansen, 
and  Johannes  Vermilie,  for  New- York ;  Gerard  us 
Beekman,  for  King's  County  ;  for  Queen's  County, 
Samuel  Edsel;  Thomas  Williams,  for  West  Chester, 
and  William  Lawrence,  for  Orange  County. 

Except  the  eastern  inhabitants  of  Long  Island, 


III8T0RY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


95 


/'I. 


Ivice, 
3il:— 
iinsen, 
[ardus 
)unty, 
tester, 

sland, 


all  the  southern  part  of  the  colony  cheerfully  sub- 
mitted to  Leisler's  command.  The  principal  free- 
holders, however,  by  respectful  letters,  gave  him 
hopes  of  their  submission,  and  thereby  prevented 
his  betaking  himself  to  arms,  while  they  were  pri- 
vately soliciting  the  colony  of  Connecticut  to  take 
them  under  its  jurisdiction.  They  had,  indeed,  no 
aversion  to  Leisler's  authority,  in  favour  of  any 
other  party  in  the  province,  but  were  willing  to  be 
incorporated  with  a  people,  from  whence  they  had 
originally  colonised;  and,  therefore,  as  soon  as 
Connecticut  declined  their  request,  they  openly 
appeared  to  be  advocates  for  Leisler.  At .  this 
juncture  the  Long  Island  representation  was  drawn 
up,  which  I  have  more  than  once  had  occasion  to 
mention. 

The  people  of  Albany,  in  the  mean  time,  were 
determined  to  hold  the  garrison  and  city  for  king 
William,  independent  of  Leisler,  and  on  the  S?6tli 
of  October,  which  was  before  the  packet  arrived 
from  lord  Nottingham,  formed  themselves  into  a 
convention  for  that  purpose.  As  Leisler's  attempt 
to  reduce  this  country  to  his  command,  was  the 
original  cause  of  the  future  divisions  in  the  province, 
and  in  the  end  brought  about  his  own  ruin,  it  may  not 
be  improper  to  see  the  resolution  of  the  convention, 
a  copy  of  which  was  sent  down  to  him,  at  large. 

"  Petee  Schuyler,  Mayor ;  Dirk  Wessels,  Re- 
corder;  Jan  Wendal,  Jan  Jansen  Bleeker, 
Claes  Ripse,  David  Schuyler,  Albert  Ryck- 
MAN,  Aldermen,  Killian  V.  Renslaer,  Justice ; 
Capt.  Marte  Gerritse,  Justice ;  Capt.  Gerrit 


u 


y\ 


':/ 


.   ) 


li'Uiit-'<-'--    VKii.til-*^  ^  M  . 


•«»*•».. 


96 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YORK. 


Teunissb;  Dirk  Teunise,  Justice;  Lieui.  Ho- 
BERT  Saunders,  John  Cuyler,  Gerrit  RyersEi 
Evert  Banker,  Rynier  Barentse. 


t^ 


"  Resohedf  since  we  are  informed  by  persons 
coming  from  New-York,  that  captain  Jacob  Leisler 
is  designed  to  send  up  a  company  of  armed  men, 
upon  pretence  to  assist  us  in  this  country,  who 
intend  to  make  themselves  master  of  their  majes- 
ties' fort  and  this  city,  and  carry  divers  persons  and 
chief  officers  of  this  city  prisoners  to  New- York, 
and  so  disquiet  and  disturb  their  majesties'  liege 
people,  that  a  letter  be  writ  to  alderman  Levinus 
Van  Schaic,  now  at  New- York,  and  lieutenant 
Jochim  Staetsy  to  make  narrow  inquiry  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  to  signify  to  the  said  Leisler,  that  we  have 
received  such  information ;  and  withal  acquaint  him, 
that  notwithstanding  we  have  the  assistance  of 
ninety-five  men  from  our  neighbours  of  New- 
England,  who  are  now  gone  for,  and  one  hundred 
men  upon  occasion,  to  command,  from  the  county 
of  Ulster,  which  we  think  will  be  sufficient  this 
winter,  yet  we  will  willingly  accept  any  such  assis- 
tance as  they  shall  be  pleased  to  send  for  the  defence 
of  their  majesties'  county  of  Albany:  provided  they 
be  obedient  to,  and  obey  such  orders  and  commands 
as  they  shall,  from  time  to  time,  receive  from  the 
convention ;  and  that  by  no  means  they  will  be 
admitted  to  have  the  command  of  their  majesties' 
fort  or  this  city ;  which  we  intend,  by  God's  assis- 
tance, to  keep  and  preserve  for  the  behoof  of  their 
majesties,  William  and  Mary,  king  and  queen  of 
England,  as  we  hitherto  have  done  since  their  pro- 


■k 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YOKK. 


97 


clamation ;  and  if  you  hear  that  they  persevere  with 
such  intentions,  so  to  disturb  the  inhabitants  of  this 
county,  that  you  then,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  the 
convention  and  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  county 
of  Albany,  protest  against  the  said  Leisler,  and  all 
such  persons  that  shall  make  attempt,  for  all  losses, 
damages,  bloodshed,  or  whatsoever  mischiefs  may 
ensue  thereon ;  which  you  are  to  communicate  with 
all  speed,  as  you  perceive  their  design." 


,  1  *t:<  Vi 


Taking  it  for  granted  that  Leisler  at  New- York, 
and  the  convention  at  Albany,  were  equally  affected 
to  the  revolution,  nothing  could  be  more  egrcgiously 
foolish,  than  the  conduct  of  both  parties,  who  by 
their  intestine  divisions,  threw  the  province  into 
convulsions,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  mutual  hatred 
and  animosity,  which  for  a  long  time  after,  greatly 
embarrassed  the  public  affairs  of  the  colony.  When 
Albany  declared  for  the  prince  of  Orange,  there  was 
nothing  else  that  Leisler  could  properly  require; 
and  rather  than  sacrifice  the  public  peace  of  the 
province,  to  the  trifling  honour  of  resisting  a  man 
who  had  no  evil  designs,  Albany  ought,  in  prudence, 
to  have  delivered  the  garrison  into  his  hands,  till  the 
king^s  definitive  orders  should  arrive.  But  while 
Leisler,  on  the  one  hand,  was  inebriated  with  his 
new-gotten  power,  so  on  the  other,  Bayer,  Court- 
land,  Schuyler,  and  others,  could  not  brook  a  sub- 
mission to  the  authority  of  a  man,  mean  in  his 
abilities,  and  inferior  in  his  degree.  Animated  by 
these  principles,  both  parties  prepared,  the  one  to 
reduce,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  the  other  to 
retain,  the  garrison  of  Albany.    Mr.  Livingston,  a 

VOL.  I. — 13 


/' 


'.'  ■ 


/  , 


•Mfniiiii^-^~:  - 


98 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


if 


I    < 


principal  agent  for  the  convention,  retired  into 
Connecticut,  to  solicit  the  aid  of  that  colony,  for 
the  protection  of  the  frontiers  against  the  French. 
Leisler  suspecting  that  they  were  to  be  used  against 
him,  endeavoured  not  only  to  prevent  these  supplies, 
but  wrote  letters  to  have  Livingston  apprehended  as 
an  enemy  to  tl^e  reigning  powers,  and  to  procure 
succours  from  Boston,  falsely  represented  the  con- 
vention as  in  the  interest  of  the  French  and  king 
James. 

•  Jacob  Milborne  was  commissioned  for  the  reduc- 
tion  of  Albany.  Upon  his  arrival  there,  a  great 
number  of  the  inhabitants  armed  themselves  and 
repaired  to  the  fort,  then  commanded  by  Mr.  Schuy- 
ler, while  many  others  followed  the  other  members 
of  the  convention,  to  a  conference  with  him  at  the 
city-hall.  Milborne,  to  proselyte  the  crowd,  de- 
claimed much  against  king  James,  popery,  and 
arbitrary  power ;  but  his  oratory  was  lost  upon  the 
hearers,  who  after  several  meetings,  still  adhered 
to  the  convention.  Milborne  then  advanced  with  a 
few  men  up  to  the  fort,  and  Mr.  Schuyler  had  the 
utmost  difficulty  to  prevent  both  his  own  men,  and 
the  Mohawks,  who  were  then  in  Albany,  and  per- 
fectly devoted  to  his  service,  from  firing  upon  Mil- 
borne's  party,  which  consisted  of  an  inconsider- 
able number.  In  these  circumstances,  he  thought 
proper  to  retreat,  and  soon  after  departed  from 
Albany.  In  the  spring,  he  commanded  another 
party  upon  the  same  errand,  and  the  distress  of  the 
country  on  an  Indian  irruption,  gave  him  all  the 
desired  success.  No  sooner  was  he  possessed  of 
the  garrison,  than  most  of  the  principal  members 


IIIOTORY   or   JXEW-YOUK. 


09 


of  the  convention  absconded.  Upon  which,  their 
effects  were  arbitrarily  seized  and  confiscated,  which 
BO  highly  exasperated  the  sufferers,  that  their  pos- 
terity, to  this  day,  cannot  speak  of  these  troubles, 
without  the  bitterest  invectives  against  Leisler  and 
all  his  adherents. 

In  the  midst  of  those  intestine  confusions  at 
New- York,  the  people  of  New-England  were  en- 
gaged in  a  war  with  the  Owenagungas,  Ourages, 
and  Penocoks.  Between  these  and  the  Bchakook 
Indians,  there  was  then  a  friendly  communication, 
and  the  same  was  suspected  of  the  Mohawks,  among 
whom  some  of  the  Owenagungas  had  taken  sanc- 
tuary. This  gave  rise  to  a  conference  between 
several  commissioners  from  Boston,  Plymouth,  and 
Connecticut,  and  the  Five  Nations,  at  Albany,  in 
September,  1689,  the  former  endeavouring  to  en- 
gage the  latter  against  those  Eastern  Indians,  who 
were  then  at  war  with  the  New-England  colonies. 
Tahajadoris,  a  Mohawk  sachem,  in  a  long  oration, 
answered  the  English  message,  and  however  im- 
probable it  may  seem  to  Europeans,  repeated  all 
that  had  been  said  the  preceding  day.  The  art 
they  have  in  assisting  their  memories  is  this : — The 
sachem  who  presides,  has  a  bundle  of  sticks  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose,  and  at  the  close  of  every 
principal  article  of  the  message  delivered  to  them, 
gives  a  stick  to  another  sachem  charging  him  with 
the  remembrance  of  it.  By  this  means  the  orator, 
after  a  previous  conference  with  the  Indians,  is 
prepared  to  repeat  every  part  of  the  message,  and 
give  it  its  proper  reply.  This  custom  is  invariably 
pursued  in  all  their  public  treaties. 


100 


HISTORY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


I'J       \\ 


The  oonference  did  not  answer  the  expectation 
of  the  people  of  New-England,  the  Five  Nations 
discovering  a  great  disinclination  to  join  in  the 
hostilities  against  the  Eastern  Indians.  To  atone 
for  which,  they  gave  the  highest  protestations  of 
their  willingness  to  distress  the  French,  against 
whom  the  English  had  declared  war  on  the  7th  of 
May  preceding.  That  part  of  the  speech  ratifying 
their  friendship  with  the  English  colonien,  i^  sin- 
gularly expressed.  "  We  promise  to  ^.vs«  rv<  the 
chain  inviolably,  and  wish  that  the  awa  may  UiWays 
shine  in  peace  over  all  our  heni'..^  thut  i^  compre- 
hended in  this  chain. ^  We  "■•';  two  belts.  One 
for  the  sun,  and  the  other  for  itu  beams.  We  make 
fast  the  roots  of  the  tree  of  peace  and  tranquillity 
which  is  planted  in  this  place.  Its  roots  extend  as 
far  as  the  utmost  of  your  colonies.  If  the  French 
should  come  to  shake  this  tree,  we  would  feel  it 
by  the  motion  of  its  roots,  which  extend  into  our 
country.  But  we  trust  it  will  not  be  in  the  gover- 
nor of  Canada's  power  to  shake  this  tree,  which  has 
been  so  firmly  and  long  planted  with  us." 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  advantageous  to 
these  colonies,  and  especially  to  New- York,  than  the 
late  success  of  the  Five  Nations  against  Canada.  The 
miseries  to  which  the  French  were  reduced,  rendered 
us  secure  against  their  inroads,  till  the  work  of  the 
revolution  wa^  in  a  great  measure  accomplished; 
and  to  their  u  -'  v'ed  condition,  we  must  princi- 
pally ascribb  'in  \it-    at  of  thj  ^rench  design,  about 


if  ft 


*  The  Indian  conception  of  the  lea^e  between  them  and  us,  is  couched 
under  the  idea  of  a  chain  extended  from  a  ship  to  a  ttee,  and  every  renewal  of 
thi^  league  they  call  brightening  the  chain. 


III8T0HY  Ol'   NKW-VOUh. 


101 


this  time,  to  make  a  conquest  of  tht;  province.  De 
Calliers,  who  went  to  France  in  1688,  first  project- 
nd  the  schcnio* ;  and  the  trouMea  in  England  en- 
couraged the  French  Court  to  make  the  attempt. 
C'uffiniero  commanded  the  ships,  which  sailed  for 
that  purpufio  from  Rocheforf ;  subject,  n<;vertheless, 
to  the  Count  de  Ffontenac,  who  was  general  of  the 
land  forces,  destined  to  march  from  '  tnada  by 
the  route  of  Sorol-Rivor  and  the  Lake  V\,  tnplain. 
The  fleet  and  troops  arrived  at  Chcbucta,  tl»  i»lace 
of  rendezvous,  in  tr^ptember ;  from  whenc(  the 
count  proceeded  to  Quebec,  leaving  or<i'  "s  v  ith 
Caffiniere  to  sail  for  New-York,  and  co  inue  in 
the  bay,  in  sight  of  the  city,  but  be  ond  ti,  fire  if 
our  cannon,  till  th(  first  of  December:  when,  if  h^ 
received  no  intellig'^uce  from  him,  he  was  «  *■'  red 
to  return  to  France,  after  unlading  the  ammi  ion, 
stores,  and  provision?!  at  Port-Royalf.  Th<  unt 
was  in  high  spirits,  <  nd  fully  determined  upoi  the 
enterprise,  till  he  arrived  at  Quebec;  where  ne 
news  of  the  success  of  the  Five  Nations  agai  ist 
Montreal,  the  loss  of  hi.s  favourite  fort  at  Lake  ' 
tario,  and  the  advanced  season  of  the  year,  defeat 
his  aims,  and  broke  up  tiie  expedition.  De  Nonvuie 
who  was  recalled,  carried  the  news  of  this  disap- 
pointment to  the  court  ot  France,  leaving  the  chief 
command  of  the  country  in  the  hands  of  Count 


1- 


*  CharloToix  haa  published  an  extr  '^t  of  the  memorial  presented  to  the 
French  king.  The  force  demanded  for  his  enterprise  was  to  consist  of  1,300 
regulars,  and  300  Canadians.  Albany  .as  said  to  be  fortified  only  by  an 
incloBuro  of  stockadoes,  and  a  little  <brt  wi  i  four  bastions ;  and  that  it  contained 
but  150  soldiers  and  300  inhabitants.  That  New- York  the  capital  of  the 
province  was  open,  had  a  stone  fort  with  four  bastions,  and  about  400  inha- 
bitants, divided  into  eight  companies. 

t  Now  Annapolis. 


^  f-- 


102 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


V 


I 


i    I  i 


ill 


Frontenac.  This  gentleman  was  a  man  of  courage, 
and  well  acquainted  with  the  affairs  of  that  country. 
He  was  then  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and 
yet  so  far  from  consulting  his  ease,  that  in  a  fe  w 
days  afler  he  landed  at  Quebec,  he  re-embarked  in 
a  canoe  for  Montreal,  where  his  presence  was  abso- 
lutely necessary,  to  animate  the  inhabitants  and  re- 
gain their  Indian  alliances.  A  war,  between  the 
English  and  French  crowns,  being  broke  out,  the 
count  betook  himself  to  every  art,  for  concluding  a 
peace  between  Canada  and  the  Five  Nations ;  and 
for  this  purpose,  the  utmost  civilities  were  shown 
to  Taweraket  and  the  other  Indians,  who  had  been 
sent  to  France  by  De  Nonville,  and  were  now 
returned.  Three  of  those  Indians,  who  doubtless 
were  struck  with  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  the 
French  monarch,  were  properly  sent  on  the  im- 
portant message  of  conciliating  the  friendship  of 
the  Five  Nations.  These,  agreeable  to  our  alli- 
ance, sent  two  sachems  to  Albany,  in  December, 
with  notice,  that  a  council  for  that  purpose  was  to 
be  held  at  Onondaga.  It  is  a  just  reflection  upon 
the  people  of  Albany,  that  they  regarded  the  treaty 
so  slightly,  as  only  to  send  four  Indians  and  the  in- 
terpreter with  instructions,  in  their  name,  to  dis- 
suade the  Confederates  from  a  cessation  of  arms ; 
while  the  French,  on  the  other  hand,  had  then  a 
Jesuit  among  the  Oneidas.  The  council  began 
on  the  22d  of  January  1690,  and  consisted  of  eighty 
sachems.  Badekanaghtie,  an  Onondaga  chief, 
opened  the  conference.  The  whole  was  managed 
with  great  art  and  formality,  and  concluded  in 
showing  a  disposition  to  make  a  peace  with  the 


Ml 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YOUK. 


1013 


French,  without  perfecting  it;  guarding,  at  the  same 
time,  against  giving  the  least  umbrage  to  the  Eng- 
lish. 

Among  other  measures  to  detach  the  Five  Na- 
tions from  the  British  interest,  and  raise  the  de- 
pressed spirit  of  the  Canadians,  the  Count  de  Fron- 
tenac  thought  proper  to  send  out  several  parties 
against  the   English  colonies.      D'Aillebout,  De 
Mantel,  and  Le  Moyne,  commanded  that  against 
New- York,  consisting  of  about  two  hundred  French 
and  some  Caghnuaga  Indians,  who  being  prose- 
lytes from  the  Mohawks,  were  perfectly  acquainted 
with  that  country.     Their  orders  were,  in  general, 
to  attack  New- York;  but  pursuing  the  advice  of 
the  Indians,  they  resolved  instead  of  Albany,  to 
surprise  Schenectady,  a  village  seventeen  miles 
north-west  from  it,  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  Mohawks.    The  people  of  Schenectady 
though  they  had  been  informed  of  the  designs  of  the 
enemy,  were  in  the  greatest  security;  judging  it 
impracticable  for  any  men  to  march  several  hundred 
miles  in  the  depth  of  winter,  through  the  snow, 
bearing  their  provisions  on  their  backs.     Besides, 
the  village  was  in  as  much  confusion  as  the  rest  of 
the  province ;  the  officers  who  were  posted  there,  be- 
ing unable  to  preserve  a  regular  watch,  or  any  kind 
of  military  order.    Such  was  the  state  of  Schenec- 
tady, as  represented  by  colonel  Schuyler,  who  was 
at  that  time  mayor  of  the  city  of  Albany,  and  at  the 
head  of  the  Convention.     A  copy  of  his  letter  to  the 
neighbouring  colonies,  concerning  this  descent  upon 
Schenectady,  dated  the  15th  of  February,  1689-90, 
T  have  now  lying  before  me,  under  his  own  hand. 


1 

I 


:>'  ■ 


H    1 


.*.>    .  . 


% 


104 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


/'    i 


\^   i 


After  two  and  twenty  days'  march,  the  enemy  fell 
in  with  Schenectady,  on  the  8th  of  February; 
and  were  reduced  to  such  straits,  that  they  had 
thoughts  of  surrendering  themselves  prisoners  of 
war.  But  their  scouts,  who  were  a  day  or  two  in 
the  village  entirely  unsuspected,  returned  with  such 
encouraging  accounts  of  the  absolute  security  of 
the  people,  that  the  enemy  determined  on  the  at- 
tack. They  entered  on  Saturday  night  about  eleven 
o'clock,  at  the  gates,  which  were  found  unshut  ; 
and,  that  every  house  might  be  invested  at  the  same 
time,  divided  into  small  parties  of  six  or  seven  men. 
The  inhabitants  were  in  a  profound  sleep,  and  un- 
alarmed,  till  their  doors  were  broke  open  Never 
were  people  in  a  more  wretched  consternation. 
Before  they  were  risen  from  tJ.  \t  beds,  the  enemy 
entered  their  houses,  and  began  the  perpetration 
of  the  most  inhuman  barbarities.  No  tongue,  says 
colonel  Schuyler,  can  express  the  cruelties  that 
were  committed.  The  whole  village  was  instantly 
in  a  blaze.  Women  with  child  ripped  open,  and 
their  infants  cast  into  the  flames,  or  dashed  against 
the  posts  of  the  doors.  Sixty  persons  perished  in 
the  massacre,  and  twenty-seven  were  carried  into 
captivity.  The  rest  fled  naked  towards  Albany, 
through  a  deep  snow  which  fell  that  very  night  in 
a  terrible  storm ;  and  twenty-five  of  these  fugitives 
lost  their  limbs  in  the  flight,  through  the  severity  of 
the  frost.  The  news  of  this  dreadful  tragedy  reached 
Albany  about  break  of  day ;  and  universal  dread 
seized  the  inhabitants  of  that  city,  the  enemy  being 
reported  to  be  one  thousand  four  hundred  strong. 
A  party  of  horse  was  immediately  despatched  to 


^k. 


v^ 


wk 


'^f^ 


HISTORY  or   NEW- YORK. 


105 


Schenectady,  and  a  few  Mohawks  then  in  town, 
fearful  of  being  intercepted,  were  with  difficulty 
sent  to  apprise  their  own  castles. 

The  Mohawks  were  unacquainted  with  this  bloody 
scene,  till  two  days  after  it  happened,  our  mes- 
sengers being  scarce  able  to  travel  through  the 
great  depth  of  the  snow.  The  enemy,  in  the  mean 
time,  pillaged  the  town  of  Schenectady  till  noon 
the  next  day ;  and  then  went  off  with  their  plunder, 
and  about  forty  of  their  best  horses.  The  rest, 
with  all  the  cattle  they  could  find,  lay  slaughtered 
in  the  streets. 

The  design  of  the  French,  in  this  attack,  was  to 
alarm  the  fears  of  our  Indian  allies,  by  showing 
that  we  were  incapable  of  defending  them.  Every 
art  also  was  used  to  conciliate  their  friendship,  for 
they  not  only  spared  those  Mohawks  who  were 
found  in  Schenectady,  but  several  other  particular 
persons,  in  compliment  to  the  Indians,  who  requested 
that  favour.  Several  women  and  children  were  also 
released  at  the  desire  of  captain  Glen,  to  whom  the 
French  offered  no  violence,  the  officer  declaring  he 
had  strict  orders  against  it,  on  the  Sx,ore  of  his  wife's 
civilities  to  certain  French  captives  in  the  time  of 
colonel  Dongan. 

The  Mohawks,  considering  the  cajoling  arts  of 
the  French,  and  that  the  Caghnuagas  who  were 
with  them,  were  once  a  part  of  their  own  body, 
behaved  as  well  as  could  be  reasonably  expected. 
They  joined  a  party  of  young  men  from  Albany, 
fell  upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  and  cither  killed 
or  captivated  five  and  twenty.  Several  sachems,  in 
the  mean  time,  came  to  Albany,  and  very  affijctingly 

vnr..  T 1.1 


lOG 


inSTORY   OF   NEW-YOllK. 


;  ik  \ 


ft 


addressed  the  inhabitants,  who  were  just  ready  to 
abandon  the  country,  urging  their  stay,  and  exciting 
an  union  of  all  the  English  colonies  against  Ca- 
nada. Their  sentiments  concerning  the  Frencli 
appear  from  the  following  speech  of  condolence  : 

"  Brethren,  we  do  not  think  that  what  the  French 
have  done  can  be  called  a  victory :  it  is  only  a  far- 
ther proof  of  their  cruel  deceit.  The  governor  of 
Canada  sent  to  Onondaga,  and  talks  to  us  of  peace 
with  our  whole  house ;  but  war  was  in  his  heart,  as 
you  now  see  by  woful  experience.  He  did  the 
same,  formerly,  at  Cadaracqui,  and  in  the  Seneca's 
country.  This  is  the  third  time  he  has  acted  so 
deceitfully.  He  has  broken  open  our  house  at  both 
ends;  formerly  in  the  Seneca^s  country,  and  now 
liere.    We  hope,  however,  to  be  revenged  of  them." 

Agreeable  to  this  declaration,  the  Indians  soon 
after  treated  the  chevalier  D'Eau  and  the  rest  of  the 
French  messengers,  who  came  to  conclude  the 
peoce  proposed  by  Taweraket,  with  the  utmost 
indignity,  and  afterwards  delivered  them  up  to  the 
English.  Besides  this,  their  scouts  harassed  the 
borders  of  the  enemy,  and  fell  upon  a  party  of 
French  and  Indians,  in  the  river,  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  above  Montreal,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Louvigni,  a  captain  who  was  going  to 
Midsilimakinac,  to  prevent  the  conclusion  of  the 
peace  between  the  Utawawas  and  Quatoghies,  with 
the  Five  Nations.  The  loss  in  the  skirmish  was 
nearly  equal  on  both  sides.  One  of  our  prisoners 
was  delivered  to  the  Utawawas,  who  eat  him.  In 
revenge  for  this  barbarity,  the  Indians  attacked  the 
island  of  Montreal  at  Trembling  Point,  and  killed 


U. 


v^^ 


HISTORY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


107 


an  officer  and  twelve  men,  while  another  party 
carried  ofT  about  fifteen  prisoners  taken  at  Riviere 
Puante,  whom  they  afterwards  slew  through  fear  of 
their  pursuers,  and  others  burnt  the  French  planta- 
tions at  St.  Ours.  But  what  rendered  this  year 
most  remarkable,  was  the  expedition  of  Sir  William 
Phips  against  Quebec.  He  sailed  up  the  river 
with  a  fleet  of  thirty-two  sail,  and  came  before  the 
city  in  October.  Had  he  improved  his  time  and 
strength,  the  conquest  would  have  been  easy  ;  but 
by  spending  three  days  in  idle  consultations,  the 
French  governor  brought  in  his  forces,  and  enter- 
tained such  a  mean  opinion  of  the  English  knight, 
that  he  not  only  despised  his  summons  to  surrender, 
but  sent  a  verbal  answer,  in  which  he  called  king 
William  an  usurper,  and  poured  the  utmost  con- 
tempt upon  his  subjects.  The  messenger  who  car- 
ried the  summons,  insisted  upon  a  written  answer, 
and  that  within  an  hour ;  but  the  count  De  Frontenac 
absolutely  refused  it,  adding,  "I'll  answer  your 
master  by  the  mouth  of  my  cannon,  that  he  may 
learn  that  a  man  of  my  condition  is  not  to  be  sum- 
moned in  this  manner."  Upon  this.  Sir  William 
made  two  attempts  to  land  below  the  town,  but 
was  repulsed  by  the  enemy,  with  considerable  loss  of 
men,  cannon,  and  baggage.  Several  of  the  ships  also 
cannonaded  the  city,  but  without  any  success.  The 
forts  at  the  same  time  returned  the  fire,  and  obliged 
them  to  retire  in  disorder.  The  French  writers,  in 
their  accounts  of  this  expedition,  universally  censure 
the  conduct  of  Sir  William,  though  they  confess  the 
valour  of  his  troops.  La  Hontan,  who  was  then  at 
Quebec,  says,  he  could  not  have  acted  in  a  manner 


■j::1J!!^^  <*"''hjhW*i 


w«i«^^ 


108 


HISTORY    OF   NEW-YORK. 


v 


more  agreeable  to  the  French,  if  he  had  been  in 
their  interest.* 

*  Dr.  Golden  supposes  this  attack  was  made  upon  Quebec  in  1691,  but  he  i» 
certainly  mistaken.  See  Life  of  Sir  William  Pfaips,  published  at  London  in 
1697.    Oldmixon's  Brit.  Empire,  and  Charlevoix. 

Among  the  causes  of  the  ill  success  of  the  fleet,  the  author  of  the  Life  of  Sir 
William  Phips,  mentions  the  neglect  of  the  conjoined  troops  of  New  York, 
Connecticut,  and  the  Indians,  to  attack  Montreal,  according  to  the  original  plan 
of  operations.  Ho  tells  us  that  they  marched  to  tlie  Lake,  but  there  found 
themselves  unprovided  with  battoes,  and  that  the  Indians  were  dissuaded  from 
the  attempt.  By  what  authority  these  assertions  may  be  supported,  I  know  not 
Charlevoix  says  our  army  was  disappointed  in  the  intended  diversion,  by  tlie 
small-pox,  which  seized  the  camp,  killed  three  hundred  men,  and  terrified  our 
Indian  allies. 


'i 


%^^ 


^«-JSi<*«^* 


TTSSjwJ^jIrr.  :>p— 


TFIE 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


\i 


PART  III. 

FROM  THE  REVOLUTION  TO  THE  SECOND   EXPEDITION 
AGAINST  CANADA. 

While  our  allies  were  faithfully  exerting  them- 
selves against  the  common  enemy,  Colonel  Henry 
Sloughter,  who  had  a  commission  to  be  governor 
of  this  Province,  dated  the  4th  of  January,  1639, 
arrived  here,  and  published  it  on  the  19th  of  March, 
1691.  Never  was  a  governor  more  necessary  to 
the  province,  than  at  this  critical  conjuncture ;  as 
well  for  reconciling  a  divided  people,  as  for  defend- 
ing them  against  the  wiles  of  a  cunning  adversary. 
But  either  through  the  hurry  of  the  king*s  affairs, 
or  the  powerful  interest  of  a  favourite,  a  man  was 
sent  over,  utterly  destitute  of  every  qualification  for 
government,  licentious  in  his  morals,  avaricious,  and 
poor.  The  council  present  at  his  arrival  were 
Joseph  Dudley,  Chudley  Brook, 

Frederick  Philipse,  Thomas  Willet, 

Stephen  Van  Courtland,  William  Pinhorne. 
Gabriel  Mienvielle, 

If  Leisler  had  delivered  the  garrison  to  colonel 
Sloughter,  as  he  ought  to  have  done,  upon  his  first 
landing,  besides  extinguishing  in  a  great  degree, 
the  animosities  then  subsisting,  he  would,  doubtless, 


I 


TIW?*; 


110 


HISTORY   OP   NEW- YORK. 


iv; '  / 


(t  < 


have  attracted  the  favourable  notice,  both  of  the 
governor  and  the  crown.  But  being  a  weak  man, 
lie  was  so  intoxicated  with  the  love  of  power,  that 
though  he  had  been  well  informed  of  Slougtiter's 
appointment  to  the  government,  ho  not  only  shut 
himself  up  in  the  fort  with  Bayard  and  Nichols, 
whom  he  had  before  that  time  imprisoned,  but  re- 
fused to  deliver  them  up,  or  to  sum  nder  the  garri- 
son. From  this  moment,  he  lost  all  credit  with  the 
governor  who  joined  the  other  party  against  him. 
On  the  second  demand  of  the  Fort,  Milborne  and 
Delanoy  came  out,  under  pretence  of  confering  with 
his  excellency,  but  in  reality  to  discover  his  de- 
signs. Sloughter,  who  considered  them  as  rebels, 
threw  them  both  into  goal.  Leisier,  upon  this  event, 
thought  proper  to  abandon  the  fort,  which  Colonel 
Sloughter  immediately  entered.  Bayard  and  Ni- 
chols were  now  released  from  their  confinement, 
and  sworn  of  the  Privy  Council.  Leisier  having 
thus  ruined  his  cause,  was  apprehended  with  many 
of  his  adherents,  and  a  commisjsion  of  oyer  and  ter- 
miner issued  to  Sir  Thomas  Robinson,  colonel 
Smith,  and  others,  for  their  trials. 

In  vain  did  they  plead  the  merit  of  their  zeal  for 
king  William,  since  they  had  so  lately  opposed  his 
governor.  Leisier,  in  particular,  endeavoured  to 
justify  his  conduct,  insisting  that  Lord  Notting- 
ham's letter  entitled  him  to  act  in  the  quality  of 
lieutenant-governor.  Whether  it  was  through  ig- 
norance or  sycophancy,  I  know  not :  but  the  judges 
instead  of  pronouncing  their  own  sentiments  upon 
this  part  of  the  prisoner's  defence,  refered  it  to  the 
governor  and  council,  praying  their  opinion,  whether 


II  KH 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


Ill 


»f  the 
man, 
•,  that 
liter's 
^  shut 
ichols, 
)ut  re- 
garri- 
ith  the 
t  him. 
no  and 
ig  with 
tiis  de- 
rebels, 
1  event, 
IJolonel 
nd  Ni- 
ementy 
having 
i  many 
nd  ter- 
olonel 

leal  for 
sed  his 
ired  to 
fotting- 
ility  of 
1  ig- 
I  judges 
^s  upon 
to  the 
whether 


that  letter  "  or  any  other  letters,  or  papers,  in  the 
packet  from  White-Hall,  can  be  understood,  or  in- 
terpreted, to  be  and  l  tain,  any  power,  or  direc- 
tion to  captain  Leisier,  to  take  the  government  of 
this  province  upon  himself,  or  that  the  administra- 
tion thereupon  be  holden  good  in  law."  The  an- 
swer was,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in  the  ne- 
gative ;  and  Leisler  and  his  son  were  condemned 
to  death  for  high-treason-  These  violent  measures 
drove  many  of  the  inhabitants,  who  were  fearful  of 
being  apprehended,  into  the  neighbouring  colonics, 
which  shortly  after  occasioned  the  passing  an  act  of 
general  indemnity. 

From  the  surrender  of  the  province  to  the  year 
1683,  the  inhabitants  were  ruled  by  the  duke's  go- 
vernors and  their  councils,  who,  from  time  to  time, 
made  rules  and  orders,  which  were  esteemed  to 
be  binding  as  laws.     These,  about  the  year  1674, 
were  regularly  collected  under  alphabetical  titles ; 
and  a  fair  copy  of  them  remains  amongst  our  re- 
cords to  this  day.     They  are  commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  the  Duke's  Laws.     The  title  page  of 
the  book,  written  in  the  old  court  hand  is  in  these 
bald  words,  "  Jus  Novae  Eboracensis ;  vel,  Leges 
lUustrissimo  Principe  Jacobi  Duce  Eboraci  et  Al- 
banse,  etc.    Institutce  et  Ordinata),  ad  Observandum 
in  Territoriis  Americoe  ;  Transcriptoe  Anno  Domini 
MDCLXXIV." 

Those  acts,  which  were  made  in  1683,  and  after 
the  duke's  accession  to  the  throne,  when  the  peo- 
ple were  admitted  to  a  participation  of  the  legisla- 
tive power,  are  for  the  most  part  rotten,  defaced,  or 
lost.     Few  minutes  relating  to  them  remain  on  the 


112 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


•  i    < 


council  books,  and  none  in  the  journals  of  the  house. 
As  this  assembly,  in  1691,  was  the  first  after  the 
revolution,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  take  some 
particular  notice  of  its  transactions.^ 

It  began  the  9th  of  April,  according  to  the  writs 
of  summons  issued  on  the  "^Uth  of  March  preceding. 
The  Journal  of  the  house  opens  with  a  list  of  the 
members  returned  by  the  sheriffs. 


City  and  County  of  New-  York — 
James  Graham, 
William  Merrett, 
Jacobus  Van  Courtlandt, 
Johannes  Kipp. 

City  and  County  of  Albany — 
Derick  Wessells, 
Levinus  Van  Scayck. 

County  of  Richmond — 

Elias  Dukesbury, 
John  Dally. 

County  of  West-Chester — 
John  Pell. 

County  of  Suffolk  — 

Henry  Pierson, 
Matthew  Howell. 


^  All  laws  nuide  here,  antecedent  to  thif)  period,  are  disregarded  boUi  by  tiic 
legislature  and  the  courts  of  law.  In  the  collection  of  our  acts  published  in 
1752,  the  compilers  were  directed  to  begin  at  this  assembly.  The  vaUdity  of 
the  old  grants  of  tlio  powers  of  government,  in  several  American  colonics,  is 
very  much  doubted  in  this  province. 


II    STOR       OF     V  lilW-^  ORK. 


li:^ 


Ulster  and  Dutclu     County 
Henry  Beekmaii, 
Thomas  Garton. 

Queen^s  County — 

John  Bound, 
Nathaniel  PercalL 

King's  County — 

Nicholas  Stillwoll, 
John  Poland. 


The  members  for  Queen's  county,  being  Qua- 
kers, were  afterwards  dismissed,  for  refusing  the 
oaths  directed  by  the  governor's  commission, 
but  all  the  rest  were  qualified  before  two  commis- 
sioners appointed  for  that  purpose. 

James  Graham  was  elected  their  speaker,  and 
approved  by  the  governor. 

The  majority  of  the  members  of  this  assembly 
were  against  the  measures  which  Leisler  pursued 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  time,  and  hence  we  find  the 
house,  after  considering  a  petition  signed  by  sundry 
persons  against  Leisler,  unanimously  resolved,  that 
his  dissolving  the  late  convention,  and  imprisoning 
several  persons,  was  tumultuous,  illegal  and  against 
their  majesties'  right,  and  that  the  late  depredations 
on  Schenectady,  were  to  be  attributed  to  hia 
usurpation  of  all  power. 

They  resolved,  against  the  late  forcible  seizures 
made  of  effects  of  the  people,  and  against  the  levy- 
ing of  money  on  their  majesties'  subjects.  And  as 
VOL.1. — 15 


114 


HISTORY  OF  ^EW-YOKK. 


¥  ' 


tu  Leisler's  holding  tko  fort  against  the  govcrnori 
it  was  voted  to  be  an  act  of  rebellion. 

The  house  having,  by  these  agreeable  resolves, 
prepared  the  woy  of  their  access  to  the  governor, 
addressed  him  in  these  words. 

"  May  it  please  your  Excellency, 
We,  their  majesties'  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects, 
convened,  by  their  majesties'  most  gracious  favour, 
in  general  assembly,  in  this  province,  do,  in  all  most 
humble  manner,  heartily  congratulate  your  excel- 
lency, that  as,  in  our  hearts,  we  do  ablior  and  detest 
all  the  rebellious,  arbitrary  and  illegal  proceedings 
of  the  late  usurpers  of  their  majesties'  authority,  over 
this  province,  so  we  do,  from  the  bottom  of  our 
hearts,  with  all  integrity,  acknowledge  and  declare, 
that  there  are  none,  that  can  or  ought  to  have,  right 
to  rule  and  govern  their  majesties'  subjects  here,  but 
by  their  majesties'  authority,  which  is  now  placed  in 
your  excellency  ;  and  therefore  we  do  solemnly  de- 
clare, that  we  will,  with  our  lives  and  fortunes,  sup- 
port and  maintain,  the  administration  of  your  excel- 
lency's government,  under  their  majesties,  against  all 
their  majesties'  enemies  whatsoever :  and  this  we 
Immbly  pray  your  excellency  to  accept,  as  the  sincere 
acknowledgement  of  all  their  majesties'  good  sub- 
jects, within  this  their  province ;  praying  for  their 
majesties'  long  and  happy  reign  over  us,  and  that 
your  excellency  may  long  live  and  rule,  as  according 
to  their  majesties'  most  excellent  constitution  of 
governing  their  subjects  by  a  general  assembly." 

Before  this  house  proceeded  to  pass  any  acts, 
they  unanimously  resolved,  "  That  all  the  laws 
consented  to  by  the  general  assembly,  under  James, 


^   '    ii 


HISTORY   OF   ?ii:W-YOUK. 


115 


acts, 
laws 


duke  of  York,  and  ihe  liberties  and  privileges  therein 
contained,  granted  to  the  people,  and  declared  to 
be  their  rights,  not  being  observed,  nor  ratified  and 
approved  by  his  royal  highness,  nor  the  late  king, 
are  null  and  void,  and  of  none  effect;  and  also,  the 
several  ordinances  made  by  the  late  governors  and 
councils,  being  contrary  to  the  constitution  of  Eng- 
land, and  the  practice  of  the  government  of  their 
majesties*  other  plantations  in  America,  are  likewise 
null  and  void,  and  of  no  effect,  nor  force,  within 
this  province." 

This  vote  was  on  the  24th  of  April,  1691,  and 
preceded  by  an  entry  in  these  words :  "  Upon  in- 
formation brought  into  this  house  by  several  mem- 
bers of  the  house,  declaring  that  the  several  laws 
made  formerly  by  the  general  assembly,  and  his 
late  royal  highness  James,  duke  of  York,  and  also 
the  several  ordinances,  or  reputed  laws,  made  by 
the  preceding  governors  and  councils,  for  tbi  rule 
of  their  majesties*  subjects  within  this  province,  are 
reported  among  the  people  to  be  still  in  force." — 

The  reader,  who  will  find  no  law  to  repeal  the 
acts  passed  before  the  revolution,  may,  perhaps, 
impute  to  ignorance  what  ought  to  be  ascribed  to 
art,  unless  he  is  informed  that  one  of  those  acts 
gave  a  perpetual  revenue  to  the  crown,  and  that 
every  subsequent  assembly  wished  to  conceal  what 
a  bill  to  repeal  it  would  draw  from  under  the  veil, 
which  this  resolve  had  concealed,  from  the  eye  of  a 
weak  governor,  or  concerning  which  they  made  it 
his  interest  to  be  silent,  by  the  new  temporary  act 
for  establishing  a  revenue. 

Among  the  principal  laws  enacted  at  this  session, 


u 


IIG 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YOKK. 


U  ! 


^    \  )■ 


If  '     "      i 


we  may  mention  that  for  establishing  the  revenue, 
which  was  drawn  into  precedent.  The  sums  raised 
by  it  were  made  payable  into  the  hands  of  the 
receiver-general,  and  issued  by  the  governor's  war- 
rant. By  this  means  the  governor  became,  for  a 
season,  independent  of  the  people,  and  hence  wo 
find  frequent  instances  of  the  assemblies  contending 
with  him  for  the  discharge  of  debts  to  private  per- 
sons, contracted  on  the  faith  of  the  government. 

Antecedent  to  the  revolution,  innumerable  were 
the  controversies  relating  to  public  townships  and 
private  rights ;  and  hence,  an  act  was  now  passed, 
for  the  confirmation  of  ancient  patents  and  grants, 
intended  to  put  an  end  to  those  debates.  A  law 
was  also  passed  for  the  establishment  of  courts  of 
justice,  though  a  perpetual  act  had  been  made  to 
that  purpose  in  1683,  and  the  old  court  of  assize 
entirely  dissolved  in  1684.  As  this  enacted  in  1691, 
was  a  temporary  law,  it  may  hereafter  be  disputed, 
as  it  has  been  already,  whether  the  present  establish- 
ment of  our  courts,  for  general  jurisdiction,  by  an 
ordinance,  can  consist  even  with  the  preceding  act, 
or  the  general  rules  of  law.  Upon  the  erection  of 
the  supreme  court,  a  chief  justice,  and  four  assistant 
judges,  with  an  attorney-general,  were  appointed. 
The  chief  justice,  Joseph  Dudley,  had  a  salary  of 
£130  per  annum ;  Johnson,  the  second  judge,  £100, 
and  both  were  payable  out  of  the  reveyiue  ;  but 
William  Smith,  Stephen  Van  Courtlandt,  and  Wil- 
liam Pinhorne,  the  other  judges,  and  Newton,  the 
attorney-general,  had  nothing  allowed  for  their 
services. 
^    It  has,  more  than  once,  been  a  subject  of  animated 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


117 


(lebatc,  whether  the  people  in  this  colony,  have  a 
right  to  be  represented  in  assembly,  or  whether  it 
be  a  privilege  enjoyed  through  the  grace  of  the 
crown.  A  memorable  act  passed  this  session,  vir- 
tually declared  in  favour  of  the  former  opinion, 
upon  that  and  several  other  of  the  principal  and 
distinguishing  liberties  of  Englishmen.  It  must, 
nevertheless,  be  confessed,  that  king  William  was 
afterwards  pleased  to  repeal  that  law,  in  the  year 
1697.* 

Colonel  Sloughter  proposv;d,  immediately  after 
the  session,  to  set  out  to  Albany,  but  as  Leisler's 
party  were  enraged  at  his  imprisonment,  and  the 
late  sentence  against  him,  his  enemies  were  afraid 
new  troubles  would  spring  up  in  the  absence  of  the 
governor ;  for  this  reason,  both  the-  assembly  and 
council  advised  that  the  prisoners  should  be  imme- 
diately executed.  The  sufferers  under  their  govern- 
ment, staled  their  oppressions  to  the  assembly,  who 
unanimously  resolved  on  the  17th  April,  1691,  that 
their  services  were  tumultuous  and  illegal,  and 
against  the  rights  of  the  new  king  and  queen ;  that 
they  had  illegally  and  arbitrarily  thrown  divers 
protestant  subjects  into  doleful  nauseous  prisons; 
proscribed  and  forced  others  out  of  the  colony; 
that  the  depredation  upon  Schenectady  was  im- 
putable to  their  usurpations.  That  they  had  ruined 
merchants  and  others  by  seizures  of  their  effects ; 
levied  money  and  rebelliously  raised  forces  ;  and 
that  their  refusal  to  surrender  the  fort  was  rebel- 
lion.    The  council  concurred  with  the   resolves 

'"  It  was  entitled,  *'  An  act  declaring  what  are  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
♦heir  majeitios*  subjects  inhabiting  within  thoir  province  of  New- York." 


I' 


118 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


hi?  ^ 


i  ,-: 


on  the  next  day.  The  assembly  at  first  waved 
an  answer  to  the  governor's  question,  respect- 
ing the  propriety  of  reprieving  the  convicts ;  he 
urged  them  again  for  an  explicit  answer  three 
weeks  after  (1 1th  May)  whether  they  ought,  or 
ought  not  to  be  executed ;  and  within  eight  days 
after  this  the  council  consented  to  the  execution 
and  the  assembly  declared  their  approbation. 
Sloughter,  who  had  no  inclination  to  favour  them 
in  this  request,  chose  rather  to  delay  such  a  violent 
step,  being  fearful  of  cutting  off  two  men,  who 
had  vigorously  appeared  for  the  king,  and  so 
signally  contributed  to  the  revolution.  Nothing 
could  be  more  disagreeable  to  their  enemies, 
whose  interest  was  deeply  concerned  in  their  de- 
struction ;  and,  therefore,  when  no  other  measures 
could  prevail  with  the  governor,  tradition  informs 
us,  that  a  sumptuous  feast  was  prepared,  to  which 
colonel  Sloughter  was  invited.  When  his  excel- 
lency's reason  was  drowned  in  his  cups,  the  entrea- 
ties of  the  company  prevailed  with  him  to  sign  the 
death-warrant,  and  before  he  recovered  his  senses, 
the  prisoners  were  executed.  Leisler's  son  after- 
wards carried  home  a  complaint  to  king  William, 
against  the  governor.  His  petition  was  referred, 
according  to  the  common  course  of  plantation 
affairs,  to  the  lords  commissioners  of  trade,  who, 
after  hearing  the  whole  matter,  reported  on  the 
llth  of  March,  1692,  "That  they  were  humbly  of 
opinion,  that  Jacob  Leisler  and  .Tacob  Milborne, 
deceased,  were  condemned,  and  had  suffered  ac- 
cording to  law."  Their  lordships,  however,  inter- 
ceded for  their  families,  as  fit  objects  of  roe^cy,  and 


^■tf. 


%     *• 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK^ 


11£> 


this  induced  queen  Mary,  who  approved  the  report 
on  the  17th  of  March,  to  declare,  "  That  upon  the 
humble  application  of  the  relations  of  the  said  Jacob 
Leisler  and  Jacob  Milborne,  deceased,  her  majesty 
will  order  the  estates  of  Jacob  Leisler  and  Jacob 
Milborne,  to  be  restored  to  their  families,  as  objects 
of  her  majesty's  mercy."  The  bodies  of  these  un- 
happy sufferers  were  afterwards  taken  up,  and 
interred  with  great  pomp,  in  the  old  Dutch  church, 
in  the  city  of  New- York.  Their  estates  were  re- 
stored to  their  families,  and  Leisler's  children,  in 
the  public  estimation,  are  rather  dignified,  than 
disgraced,  by  the  fall  of  their  ancestor. 

These  distractions  in  the  province,  so  entirely 
engrossed  the  public  attention,  that  our  Indian  allies, 
who  had  been  left  solely  to  contend  with  the  com- 
mon enemy,  grew  extremely  disaffected.  The 
Mohawks,  in  particular,  highly  resented  this  con- 
duct, and,  at  the  instance  of  the  Caghnuagae,  sent  a 
messenger  to  Canada,  to  confer  with  count  Frontenac 
about  a  peace.  To  prevent  this,  colonel  Sloughter 
had  an  interview  at  Albany,  in  June,  with  the  other 
four  Nations,  who  expressed  their  joy  at  seeing  a 
governor  again  in  that  place.  They  told  him,  that 
their  ancestors,  as  they  had  been  informed,  were 
greatly  surprised  at  the  arrival  of  the  first  ship  in 
that  country,  and  were  curious  to  know  what  was 
in  its  huge  belly.  That  they  found  Christians  in 
it,  and  one  Jacques,  with  whom  they  made  a  chain 
of  friendship,  which  they  had  preserved  to  this  day. 
All  the  Indians,  except  the  Mohawks,  assured  the 
governor  at  this  meeting,  of  their  resolution  to  pro- 
secute the  war.    The  Mohawks  confessed  their 


{■:■ 


if     \\ 


Ui 


■•"•*.:.f*i..«„ii. 


20 


HISTORY   OP  NEW- YORK. 


negociations  with  the  French,  that  they  liad  received 
a  belt  from  Canada,  and  prayed  the  advice  of  the 
governor,  and  afterwards  renewed  their  league  with 
all  our  colonies. 

Sloughter  soon  after  returned  to  New- York,  and 
ended  a  short,  weak,  and  turbulent  administration, 
for  he  died  suddenly  on  the  23d  of  July,  1691.  Some 
were  not  without  suspicions  that  be  came  unfairly 
to  his  end,  but  the  certificate  of  the  physician  and 
surgeons,  who  opened  his  body  by  an  order  of 
council,  confuted  these  conjectures,  and  his  remains 
were  interred  in  Stuyvesant's  vault,  next  to  those 
of  the  old  Dutch  governor. 

At  the  time  of  Sloughter's  decease,  the  govern- 
ment devolved,  according  to  the  late  act  for  declaring 
the  rights  of  the  people  of  this  province,  on  the 
council,  in  which  Joseph  Dudley  had  a  right  to 
preside  ;  but  they  committed  the  chief  command  to 
Richard  Ingolsby,  a  captain  of  an  independent 
company,  who  was  sworn  into  the  office  of  president 
on  the  26th  of  July,  1698.  Dudley,  soon  afterwards, 
returned  to  this  province  from  Boston,  but  did  not 
think  proper  to  dispute  Ingolby's  authority,  though 
the  latter  had  no  title  nor  the  greatest  abilities  for 
government,  and  was  besides  obnoxious  to  the  party 
who  had  joined  Leisler,  having  been  an  agent  in  the 
measures  which  accomplished  his  ruin.  To  the 
late  troubles,  which  were  then  recent,  and  the 
agreement  subsisting  between  the  council  and  as- 
sembly, we  must  ascribe  it  that  the  former  tacitly 
acknowledged  Ingolsby's  right  to  the  president's 
chair;  for  they  concurred   with  him   in  passing 


HISTORY   OF   NEU'-YORK. 


121 


several  laws,  in  autumn  and  the  spring  following, 
the  validity  of  which  have  never  yet  been  disputed. 

This  summer  major  lii^chuyler,*  with  a  party  of 
Mohawks,  passed  through  the  Lake  Champlain, 
and  made  a*  bold  irruption  upon  the  French  settle- 
ments at  the  north  end  of  it.f  De  Callieres,  the 
governor  of  Montreal,  to  oppose  him,  collected  a 
small  army  of  eight  hundred  men,  and  encamped 
at  La  Prairie  Schuyler  had  several  conflicts  with 
the  enemy,  and  slew  about  three  hundred  of  them, 
which  exceeded  in  number  his  whole  party.  The 
French,  ashamed  of  their  ill  success,  attribute  it  to 
the  want  of  order,  too  many  desiring  to  have  the 
command  ;  but  the  true  cause  was  the  ignorance  of 
their  officers  in  the  Indian  manner  of  fighting.  They 
kept  their  men  in  a  body,  while  ours  posted  them- 
selves behind  trees,  hidden  from  the  enemy.  Major 
Schuyler's  design,  in  this  descent,  was  to  animate 
the  Indians,  and  preserve  their  enmity  against  the 
French.  They,  accordingly,  continued  their  hosti- 
lities, and,  by  frequent  incursions,  kept  the  country 
in  constant  alarm. 

In  the  midst  of  these  distresses,  the  French 
governor  preserved  his  sprightliness  and  vigour, 
animating  every  body  about  him.  After  he  had 
served  himself  of  the  Utawawas,  who  came  to  trade 
at  Montreal,  he  sent  them  home  under  the  care  of  a 
captain  and  one  hundred  and  ten  men ;  and  to 

*  The  French,  from  hi«  groat  influence  at  Albany  and  activity  among  the 
Indiana,  concluded  that  ho  was  governor  of  tiiat  city ;  and  hence,  their  historians 
honour  him  with  that  title,  though  lie  was  then  only  mayor  of  the  corporation. 
"  Pitre  Schuyler  (says  Charlevoix)  etoit  un forte  Iwnnite  homme."" 

t  Dr.  Colden  relates  it  as  a  transaction  of  the  year  1691,  which  is  true ; 
but  he  supposes  it  was  before  Sir  William  Phips's  attack  upon  Quebec,  and 
thus  foils  mto  an  anachronism  of  one  whole  year,  as  I  have  already  observetl. 
VOL.  I. — IG 


f 


i 


I 


M 


A 


j^l 


■*  I!) 


*i  it 


122 


HISTORY  OF  iM:w-TonK. 


secure  their  attachment  to  the  French  interest,  gave 
them  two  Indian  prisoners,  and,  besides,  sent  very 
considerable  presents  to  the  Western  Indians  in 
their  alliance.  The  captives  were  afterwards  burnt. 
The  Five  Nations,  in  the  meantime,  *grew  more 
and  more  incensed,  and  continually  harassed  the 
French  borders.  Mr.  Beaucour,  a  young  gentleman, 
in  the  following  winter,  marched  a  body  of  about 
three  hundred  men,  to  attack  them  at  the  isthmus 
at  Niagara.  Incredible  were  the  fatigues  they 
underwent  in  this  long  march  over  the  snow,  bear- 
ing their  provisions  on  their  backs.  Eighty  men 
of  the  Five  Nations  opposed  the  French  party,  and 
bravely  maintained  their  ground,  till  most  of  them 
were  cut  off.  In  return  for  which,  the  confederates, 
in  small  parties,  obstructed  the  passage  of  the 
French  through  Lake  Ontario  and  the  river  issuing 
out  of  it,  and  cut  off  their  communication  with  the 
Western  Indians.  An  Indian,  called  Black  Kettle, 
commanded  in  these  incursions  of  the  Five  Nations, 
and  his  successes,  which  continued  the  whole  sum- 
mer, so  exasperated  the  count,  that  he  ordered  an 
Indian  prisoner  to  be  burnt  alive.  The  bravery  of 
this  savage  was  as  extraordinary,  as  the  torments 
inflicted  on  him  were  cruel.  He  sung  his  military 
achievements  without  interruption,  even  while  his 
bloody  executioners  practised  all  possible  barba- 
rities. Thoy  broiled  his  feet,  thrust  his  fingers  into 
red-hot  pipes,  cut  his  joints,  and  twisted  the  sinews 
with  bars  of  iron.  After  this  his  scalp  was  ripped 
off,  and  hot  sand  poured  on  the  wound. 

In  June,  1692,  captain  Ingolsby  met  the  Five 
Nations  at  Albany,  and  encouraged  them  to  persevere 


X 


HISTORY   UP   NKW-YORK. 


123 


in  the  war.  The  Indians  declared  their  enmity  to 
the  French  in  the  strongest  terms,  and  as  heartily 
professed  their  friendship  to  us.  "  Brother  Corlear," 
said  the  sachem, "  we  are  all  the  subjects  of  one  great 
king  and  queen  ;  we  have  one  head,  one  heart,  one 
interest,  and  are  all  engaged  in  the  same  war." 
The  Indians  at  the  same  time  did  not  forget,  at 
this  interview,  to  condemn  the  inactivity  of  the  Eng- 
lish, telling  them  that  the  destruction  of  Canada 
would  not  make  one  summer's  work  against  their 
united  strength,  if  vigorously  exerted. 
•;  Colonel  Benjamin  Fletcher  arrived,  with  a  com- 
mission to  be  governor,  on  the  29th  of  August,  1692, 
which  was  published  the  next  day,  before  the  follow- 
ing members,  in  council :  .  .  „ 

Frederick  Philipse,  Chudley  Brooke, 

Stephen  Van  Courtlaindt,  William  Nicoll, 
Nicholas  Bayard,  Thomas  Willet, 

Gabriel  Mienville,  Thomas  Johnston, 

William  Pinhorne,  one  of  that  board,  being  a 
non-resident,  was  refused  the  oaths ;  and  Joseph 
Dudley,  for  the  same  reason,  removed  both  from  his 
seat  in  council  and  his  office  of  chief  justice.  Caleb 
Heathcote  and  John  JToung  succeeded  them  in  coun- 
cil; and  William  Smith  was  seated,  in  Dudley's 
place,  on  the  bench. 

Colonel  Fletcher  brought  over  with  him  a  present 
to  the  colony  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  warlike 
stores;  in  gratitude  for  which,  he  exhorted  the 
council  and  assembly,  who  were  sitting  at  his  arrival, 
to  send  home  an  address  of  thanks  to  the  king.  It 
consists,  principally,  of  a  representation  of  the  great 


M 


4 


i\.A'ti 


n 


124 


HISTORY   OF   NliW-YOItlv. 


1 1  <•■ 


expense  the  province  was  continually  at  to  det'end 
the  frontiers,  and  praying  his  majesty's  direction, 
that  the  neighbouring  colonies  might  be  compelled 
to  join  their  aid  for  the  support  of  Albany.  The 
following  passage  in  it  shows  the  sense  of  the  legis- 
lature, upon  a  matter  which  has  since  been  very 
much  debated.  "  When  these  countries  were  pos- 
sessed by  the  Dutch  West-India  Company,  they  al- 
ways had  pretences  (and  had  the  most  part  of  it 
within  their  actual  jurisdiction)  to  all  that  tract  of 
land  (with  the  islands  adjacent)  extending  from  the 
west  side  of  Connecticut  River  to  the  lands  lying 
on  the  west  side  of  Delaware  Bay,  as  a  suitable 
portion  of  land  for  one  colony  or  government ;  all 
which,  including  the  lands  on  the  west  of  Delaware 
Bay  or  River,  were  in  the  duke  of  York's  grant,  from 
his  majesty  king  Charles  the  second,  whose  gover- 
nors also  possessed  those  lands  on  the  west  side  of 
Delaware  Bay  or  River.  By  several  grants,  as  well 
from  the  crown  as  from  the  duke,  the  said  province 
has  been  so  diminished,  that  it  is  now  decreased  to 
a  very  few  towns  and  villages  ;  the  number  of  men  fit 
to  bear  arms,  in  the  whole  government,  not  amount- 
ing to  3,000,  who  are  all  reduced  to  great  poverty." 
Fletcher  was  by  profession  a  soldier,  a  man  of 
strong  passions  and  inconsiderable  talents,  very  ac-^ 
live,  and  equally  avaricious.  Nothing  could  be  more 
fortunate  to  him  than  his  early  acquaintance  with 
major  Schuyler  at  Albany,  at  the  treaty  for  confir- 
mation of  the  Indian  alliance,  the  fall  after  hie  arri- 
val. No  man,  then  in  this  province,  understood  the 
state  of  our  affairs  with  the  Five  Nations  better  than 
major  Schuyler.    He  had  so  great  an  influence  over 


1^ 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


125 


them,  that  whatever  Quiddcr,*  as  they  called  him, 
recommended  or  disapproved,  had  the  force  of  a  law. 
This  power  over  them  was  supported,  as  it  had  been 
obtained,  by  repeated  offices  of  kindness,  and  his 
singular  bravery  and  activity  in  the  defence  of  his 
country.  These  qualifications  rendered  him  singu- 
larly serviceable  and  necessary,  both  to  the  province 
and  the  governor.  For  this  reason,  Fletcher  took 
him  into  his  confidence,  and,  on  the  25th  of  October, 
raised  him  to  the  council  board.  Under  the  tutelage 
of  major  Schuyler,  the  governor  became  daily  more 
and  more  acquainted  with  our  Indian  affairs;  his 
constant  application  to  which,  procured  and  preserv- 
ed him  a  reputation  and  influence  in  the  colony. 
Without  this  knowledge,  and  which  was  all  that  he 
had  to  distinguish  himself,  his  incessant  solicitations 
for  money,  his  passionate  temper  and  bigoted  prin- 
ciples, must  necessarily  have  rendered  him  obnoxi- 
ous to  the  people,  and  kindled  a  hot  fire  of  conten- 
tion in  the  province. 

The  old  French  governor,  who  found  that  all  his 
measures  for  accomplishing  a  peace  with  the  Five 
Nations  proved  abortive,  was  now  meditating  a  blow 
on  the  Mohawks.  He  accordingly  collected  an 
army  of  six  or  seven  hundred  French  and  Indians, 
and  supplied  them  with  every  th^ng  necessary  for 
a  winter  campaign.  They  set  oui  from  Montreal 
on  the  15th  of  January,  1693 ;  and  after  a  march, 
attended  with  incredible  hardships,  they  passed  by 
Schenectady  on  the  6th  of  February,  and,  that 
night,  captivated  five  men  and  some  women  and 
children,  at  the  first  castle  of  the  Mohawks.     The 

*  Instead  of  Peter,  which  thoy  could  not  pronounce. 


t 


126 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YOttK. 


llr.hr  ■ 


second  castle  was  taken  with  equal  ease,  the  Indian 
inhabitants  being  in  p<!rfect  security,  and,  for  the 
most  part,  at  Schenectady.     At  the  third,  the  enemy 
found  about  forty  Indians  in  a  war  dance,  designing 
to  go  out  upon  some  enterprise  the  next  day.    Upon 
their  entering  the  castle  a  conflict  ensued,  in  which 
the  French  lost  about  thirty  men.    Three  hundred  of 
our  Indians  were  made  captives  in  this  descent ;  and, 
but  for  the  intercession  of  the  savages  in  the  French 
interest,  would  all  have  been  put  to  the  sword.* 
'    The  Indians  were  enraged,  and  with  good  reason, 
at  the  people  of  Schenectady,  who  gave  them  no 
assistance   against   the   enemy,   though   they   had 
notice  of  their  marching  by  that  village ;  but  this 
was  atoned  for  by  the  succours  from  Albany.     Co- 
lonel Schuyler  voluntarily  headed  a  party  of  two 
hundred  men,  and  went  out  against  the  enemy. 
On  the  15th  of  February,  he  was  joined  by  near 
three  hundred  Indians,  ill  armed,  and  many  of  then 
boys.    A  pretended  deserter,  who  came  to  dissuade 
the   Indians  from  the  pursuit,   informed  him,  the 
next  day,  that  the  French  had  built  a  fort,  and 
waited  to  fight  him :  upon  which  he  sent  to  Ingolsby, 
the  commandant  at  Albany,  as  well  for  a  reinforce- 
ment as  for  a  supply  of  provisions ;  for  the  greatest 
part  of  his  men  came  out  with  only  a  few  biscuits  in 
their  pockets,  and  at  the  time  they  fell  in  with  the 
enemy,  on  the  17th  of  the  month,  had  been  several 
days  without  any  kind  of  food.     Upon  approaching 
the  French  army,  sundry  skirmishes  ensued ;  the 

•■''  Dr.  Golden,  and  the  Jesuit  Charlevoix,  are  not  porfcctly  agreed  in  the 
Iiiatory  of  this  irruption.  I  have  followed,  sometimes  the  former,  and  at  other 
times  tlie  latter,  according  as  the  facts  more  immediately  related  to  the  conduct 
of  their  respective  countrymen. 


uistohy  of  new-youk. 


127 


enemy  endeavouring  to  prevent  our  Indians  from 
felling  trees  for  their  protection  Captain  Byms, 
with  eighty  regulars  of  the  independent  companies 
and  a  supply  of  provisions,  arrived  on  ihe  19th,  but 
the  enemy  had  marched  off  the  day  before,  in  a 
great  snow  storm.  Our  party,  however,  pursued 
them,  and  would  have  attacked  their  rear,  if  the 
Mohawks  had  not  been  averse  to  it.  When  the  French 
reached  the  north  branch  of  Hudson's  River,  luckily 
a  cake  of  ice  served  them  to  cross  over  it,  the  river 
being  open  both  above  and  below.  The  frost  was 
now  extremely  severe,  and  the  Mohawks  fearful  of 
an  engagement;  upon  which  Schuyler,  who  had 
retaken  about  fifty  Indian  captives,  desisted  from 
the  pursuit  on  the  20th  of  February,  four  of  his 
men  and  as  many  Indians  being  killed,  and  twelve 
wounded.  Our  Indians,  at  this  time,  were  so  dis- 
tressed for  provisions,  that  they  fed  upon  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  French ;  and  the  enemy,  in  their  turn, 
were  reduced,  before  they  got  home,  to  eat  up  their 
shoes.  The  French  in  this  enterprise  lost  eighty 
men,  and  had  above  thirty  wounded. 

Fletcher's  extraordinary  dispatch  up  to  Albany, 
upon  the  first  news  of  this  descent,  gained  him  the 
esteem  both  of  the  public  and  our  Indian  allies. 

The  express  reached  New-York  on  the  12th  of 
February,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  night,  and  in  less 
t'iian  two  days  the  governor  embarked  with  three 
hundred  volunteers.  The  river  (which  was  hereto- 
fore very  uncommon  at  that  season)  was   open.* 

*  The  climate,  of  late  years,  is  much  altered,  and  this  day  (February  14, 
175G,)  three  hundred  recruits  sailed  from  Now- York  fo.-  the  army  under  tlie 
command  of  general  Shirley,  now  quartered  at  Albany,  and  last  year,  a  sloop 
went  up  the  river  a  month  earlier. 


i 


(I 


i,,^-*-.  j«_- 


.  .JMfaMU*iiJtXi  tf  ■»«*«<■ 


<iiyiiiii 


128 


HISTORY  OP   NRW-VOIIR. 


!  k       ' 


I 


'     I  J 


»' 


f"    ' 


Fletcher  landed  at  Albany,  and  arrived  at  Hchc- 
nectady  tlio  17tli  of  tlie  month,  which  is  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  New-York;  but  he 
was  still  too  late  to  be  of  any  other  use  than  to 
strengthen  the  ancient  alliance.  The  Indians,  in 
commendation  of  his  activity  on  the  occasion,  gave 
him  the  name  of  Cayenguira^j,  or,  The  Great 
Swift  Arrow.  '     ■    -■ 

Fletcher  returned  to  New- York,  and,  in  March, 
met  the  assembly,  who  were  so  well  pleased  with 
his  late  vigilance,  that,  besides  giving  him  the 
thanks  of  the  house,  they  raised  £6000  for  a  year's 
pay  of  three  hundred  volunteers  and  their  officers, 
for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers.  ' '  V  »♦  *  •  - ,  •'  -. 
.  As  the  greatest  part  of  this  province  consisted  of 
Dutch  inhabitants,  all  our  governors,  as  well  in  the 
duke's  time  as  after  the  revolution,  thought  it  good 
policy  to  encourage  English  preachers  and  school- 
masters in  the  colony.  No  man  could  be  more  bent 
upon  such  a  project  than  Fletcher,  a  bigot  to  the 
episcopal  form  of  church  government.  He,  ac- 
cordingly, recommended  this  matter  to  the  assembly, 
on  his  first  arrival,  as  well  as  at  their  present  meet- 
ing. The  house,  from  their  attachment  to  the 
Dutch  language,  and  the  model  of  the  church  of 
Holland,  secured  by  one  of  the  articles  of  surrender, 
were  entirely  disinclined  to  the  scheme,  which 
occasioned  a  warm  rtbuke  from  the  governor,  in 
his  speech  at  the  close  of  the  session,  in  these 
words :  "  Gentlemen,  the  first  thing  that  I  did 
recommend  to  you,  at  our  last  meeting,  was  to 
provide  for  a  ministry,  and  nothing  is  done  in  it. 
There  arc  none  of  you,  but  what  are  big  with  the 


ItlNTORY   OF   NEW-YOHK. 


129 


privileges  of  Englishmen  nnd  Magna  ChaHa,  which 
is  your  right ;  and  the  Manic  luw  doth  provide  for 
the  religion  of  the  rhurch  of  England,  against 
sabbath-breaking  and  all  other  profanity  ;  but  as 
you  have  made  it  last,  and  postponed  it  this  sessinn, 
1  hope  you  will  begin  with  it  the  next  meeting,  and 
do  somewhat  toward  it  effectually." 

The  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  recruits  and  ammu- 
nition at  Canada,  the  late  loss  of  the  Mohawks, 
and  the  unfulfilled  promises  of  assistance  made  from 
time  to  time  by  the  English,  together  with  the  inces- 
sant solicitations  of  Milet  the  Jesuit ;  all  conspired 
to  induce  the  Oneidas  to  sue  for  a  peace  with 
the  French  To  prevent  so  important  an  event, 
Fletcher  met  the  five  nations  at  Albany,  in  July 
1693,  with  a  considerable  present  of  knives,  hatch- 
ets, clothing,  and  ammunition,  which  had  been  sent 
over  by  the  crown  for  that  purpose.  The  Indians 
consented  ,to  a  renewal  of  the  ancient  league,  and 
expressed  their  gratitude  for  the  king's  donation 
Hv'iih  singular  force.  "  Brother  Cayenguirago,  we 
roll  and  wallow  in  joy,  by  reason  of  the  great  favor 
the  great  king  and  quecu  have  done  us,  in  sending 
us  arms  and  ammunition  at  a  time  when  we  are  in 
the  greatest  need  of  them ;  and  because  there  is 
such  unity  among  the  brethren."  Colonel  Fletcher 
pressed  their  delivering  up  to  him  Milet  the  old 
priest,  which  they  promised,  but  never  performed. 
On  the  contrary,  he  had  influence  enough  to  per- 
suade all  but  the  Mohawks  to  treat  about  the  peace 
at  Onondaga,  though  the  governor  exerted  himself 
to  prevent  it. 
VOL.  I. — 17 


I 


I 


V  ii 


((• 


f 


k. 


130 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


i 


i*i 


Soon  after  this  interview,  Fletcher  returned  to 
New-York  ;  and,  in  September,  met  a  new  assem- 
bly, of  which  James  Graham  was  chosen  Speaker. 
The  governor  laboured  at  this  session  to  procure  the 
establishment  of  a  ministry  throughout  the  colony, 
a  revenue  to  his  majesty  for  life,  the  repairing  the 
fort  in  New- York,  and  the  erection  of  a  chapel.  That 
part  of  his  speech  relating  to  the  ministry  was  in 
these  words :  "  I  recommended  to  the  former  assem- 
bly the  settling  of  an  able  ministry,  that  the  worship 
of  God  may  be  observed  among  us,  for  I  find  that 
great  and  first  duty  very  much  neglected.  Let  us 
not  forget  that  there  is  a  God  that  made  us,  who 
will  protect  us  if  we  serve  him  This  has  been 
always  the  first  thing  I  have  recommended,  yet  the 
last  in  your  consideration.  I  hope  you  are  all  satis- 
fied of  the  great  necessity  and  duty  that  lies  upon 
you  to  do  this,  as  you  expect  his  blessing  upon  your 
labours."  The  zeal  with  which  this  affair  was 
recommended  induced  the  house,  on  the  12th  of  Sep- 
tember, to  appoint  a  committee  of  eight  members, 
to  agree  upon  a  scheme  for  settling  a  ministry  in 
each  respective  precinct  throughout  the  province. 
This  committee  made  a  report  the  next  day,  but  it 
was  recommitted  till  the  afternoon,  and  then  defer- 
red to  the  next  morning.  Several  debates  arising 
about  the  report  in  the  house,  it  was  again  **  recom- 
mitted for  further  consideration."  On  the  15th  of 
September  it  was  approved,  the  establishment  being 
then  limited  to  several  parishes  in  four  counties,  and 
a  bill  ordered  to  be  brought  in  accordingly ;  which 
the  speaker  (who  on  the  18th  of  September  was 


1,.-.^ 


HISTORY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


131 


appointed  to  draw  all  their  bills)  produced  on  the 
19th  It  was  read  twice  on  the  same  day,  and  then 
referred  to  a  committee  of  the  whole  house.  The 
third  reading  was  on  the  2 1st  of  September,  when 
the  bill  passed  and  was  sent  up  to  the  governor  and 
council,  who  immediately  returned  it  with  an  amend- 
ment to  vest  his  excellency  with  an  episcopal  power 
of  inducting  every  incumbent,  adding  to  that  part  of 
the  bill  near  the  end,  which  gave  the  right  of  pre- 
sentation to  the  people,  these  words  "  and  presented 
to  the  governor  to  be  approved  and  collated." 
The  house  declined  their  consent  to  the  addition, 
and  immediately  returned  the  bill,  praying  "  that  it 
may  pass  without  the  amendment,  having  in  the 
drawing  of  the  bill  had  a  due  regard  to  that  pious 
intent  of  settling  a  ministry  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people."  Fletcher  was  so  exasperated  with  their 
refusal,  that  he  no  sooner  received  the  answer  of  the 
house  than  he  convened  them  before  him,  and  in 
an  angry  speech  broke  up  the  session.  I  shall  lay 
that  part  of  it  relating  to  this  bill  before  the  reader, 
because  it  is  characteristic  of  the  man. 


li 


'*  Gentlemen, 
*•  There  is  also  o  bill  for  settling  a  ministry  in  this 
city,  and  some  other  counties  of  the  government. 
In  that  very  thing  you  have  shown  a  great  deal  of 
stiffness.  You  take  upon  you,  as  if  you  were  dicta- 
tors. I  sent  down  to  you  an  amendment  of  three 
or  four  words  in  that  bill,  which  though  very  imma- 
terial, yet  was  positively  denied.  I  must  tell  you  it 
seems  very  unmannerly.  There  never  was  an 
amendment  yet  desired  by  the  council  board,  but 


II 


•) 


132 


HISTORY    OP   NEW-YOllK. 


1 


L    1 


what  was  rejected.  It  is  the  sign  of  a  stubborn  ill 
temper;  and  this  you  have  also  refused.  '  i  v 
V  "But,  gentlemen,  I  must  take  leave  to  tell  you,  if 
you  seem  to  understand  by  these  words,  that  none 
can  serve  without  your  collation  or  estahlishment, 
you  are  far  mistaken  ;  for  I  have  the  power  of 
collating  or  suspending  any  minister  in  my  govern- 
ment by  their  majesties'  letters  patent ;  and  whilst 
I  stay  in  the  government,  I  will  take  care  that 
neither  heresy,  sedition,  schism,  or  rebellion,  be 
preached  amongst  you,  nor  vice  and  profanity 
encouraged.  It  is  my  endeavour  to  lead  a  virtuous 
and  pious  life  amongst  you,  and  to  give  a  good 
example  :  I  wish  you  all  to  do  the  same.  You  ought 
to  consider  that  you  have  but  a  third  share  in  the 
legislative  power  of  the  government ;  and  ought  not 
to  take  all  upon  you,  nor  be  so  peremptory.  You 
ought  to  let  the  council  have  a  share.  They  p  'n 
the  nature  of  the  house  of  lords,  or  upper  '  (.  ;,  ; 
but  you  seem  to  take  the  whole  power  in  your  hands, 
and  set  up  for  every  thing.  You  have  sat  a  long 
time  to  little  purpose,  and  have  been  a  great  charge 
to  the  country.  Ten  shillings  a  day  is  a  large  allow- 
ance, and  you  punctually  exact  it.  You  have  been 
a' ways  forward  enough  to  pull  down  the  fees  of 
other  ministers  in  the  government ;  why  did  you 
not  think  it  expedient  to  correct  your  own  to  a  more 
moderate  allowance  ?' 

"  Gentlemen,  I  shall  say  no  more  at  present,  but 
that  you  do  withdraw  to  your  private  affairs  in  the 
country.  I  do  prorogue  you  to  the  tenth  of  January 
next,  and  you  are  hereby  prorogued  to  the  tenth  day 
of  .January  next  ensuing." 


f!  v^r. 


HISTORY  OF  ^'EW-YOUK. 


l'.iJ\ 


n 


but 

the 

uary 

day 


The  violence  of  this  inan*s  temper  is  very  evident 
in  all  his  speeches  and  messages  to  the  assembly ; 
and  it  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  ignorance  of  the 
times,  that  the  members  of  that  house,  instead  of 
asserting  their  equality,  peaceably  put  :^p  with  his 
rudeness.     Certainly  they  deserved  better  usage  at 
his  hands.      For  the  revenue  established  the  last 
year,  was  at  this  session  continued  five  years  longer 
than  was  originally  intended-     This  was  rendering 
the  governor  for  a  time  independent  of  the  people. 
For  at  that  day  the  assembly  had  no  treasure,  but 
the  amount  of  all  taxes  went  of  course  into  the  hands 
of  the  receiver-general,  who  was  appointed  by  the 
crown.     Out  of  this  fund  moneys  were  only  issuable 
by  the  governor's  warrant ;  so  that  every  officer  in 
the  government,  from  Mr.  Blaithwait,  who  drew 
annually  five  per  cent,  out  of  the  revenue  as  auditor- 
general,  down  to  the  meanest  servant  of  the  public, 
became  dependent  solely  of  the    governor.     And 
hence  we  find  the   house,  at  the   close   of  every 
session,  humbly  addressing  his  excellency  for  the 
trifling  wages  of  their  own  clerk.     Fletcher  was 
notwithstanding  so   much  displeased    with  them, 
that  soon  after  the  prorogation,  he  dissolved  the 
assembly. 

The  members  of  the  new  assembly  met  according 
to  the  writ  of  summons,  in  March  1694,  and  chose 
colonel  Pierson  for  their  speaker,  Mr.  Graham 
being  left  out  at  the  election  for  the  city.  The 
shortness  of  this  session,  which  continued  only  to  the 
latter  end  of  the  month,  was  owing  to  the  disagreeable 
business  the  house  began  upon,  of  examining  the 


I. 


»! 


i' 


I 


154 


HISTORY   OP   NEW- YORK. 


J 


State  of  the  public  accounts,  and  in  particular  the 
muster  rolls  of  the  volunteers  in  the  pay  of  the  pro- 
vince. They  however  resumed  it  again  in  Septem- 
ber, and  formally  entered  their  difs  tisfoction  with 
the  receiver-general's  accounts.  The  governor,  at 
the  same  time,  blew  up  the  coals  of  contention  by 
a  demand  of  additional  pay  for  the  King's  soldiers 
then  just  arrived,  and  new  supplies  for  detachments 
in  defence  of  the  fVontiers.  He  at  last  prorogued 
them,  after  obtaining  an  act  for  supporting  one  hun- 
dred men  upon  the  borders.  The  same  disputes 
revived  again  in  the  spring,  1695 ;  and  proceeded  to 
each  lengths  that  the  assembly  asked  the  governor's 
leave  to  print  their  minutes,  that  they  might 
appeal  to  the  public.  It  was  at  this  session,  on 
the  l^th  of  April,  1695,  that  upon  a  petition  of  five 
church  wardens  and  vestrymen  of  the  city  of  New- 
York  the  house  declared  it  to  be  their  opinion 
"That  the  vestrymen  and  church  wardens  have 
power  to  call  a  dissenting  protestant  minister,  and 
that  he  is  to  be  paid  and  maintained  as  the  act 
directs."  The  intent  of  this  petition  was  to  refute 
an  opinion  which  prevailed,  that  the  late  ministry 
act  was  made  for  the  sole  benefit  of  Episcopal 
clergymen. 

The  quiec  undisturbed  state  of  the  frontiers, 
while  the  French  were  endeavouring  to  make  a 
peace  with  the  Five  Nations,  and  the  complaints  of 
many  of  the  volunteers,  who  had  not  received  their 
pay,  very  much  conduced  to  the  backwardness  of 
the  assembly,  in  answering  Fletcher's  perpetual 
demands  of  money.  But  when  the  Indians  refused  to 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


135 


comply  with  the  terms  of  peace  demanded  by  the 
French  governor,  vhich  were  to  suffer  him  to 
rebuild  the  fort  at  Cadaracqui,  and  to  include  the 
Indian  allies,  the  war  broke  out  afresh,  and  the 
assembly  were  obliged  to  augment  both  their  detach- 
ments and  supplies.  The  count  Frontenac  now 
levelled  his  w.ath  principally  against  the  Mohawks, 
who  were  more  attached  than  any  other  of  the  Five 
Nations  to  our  interest :  but  as  his  intentions  had 
taken  air,  he  prudently  changed  his  measures,  and 
sent  a  party  of  three  hundred  men  to  the  isthmus 
at  Niagara,  to  surprise  those  of  the  Five  Nations 
that  might  be  hunting  there.  Among  a  f^w  that 
were  met  with,  some  were  killed  and  others  taken 
prisoners,  and  afterwards  burnt  at  Montreal.  Our 
Indians  imitated  the  count^s  example,  and  burnt  ten 
Dewagunga  captives. 

Colonel  Fletcher  and  his  assembly  having  come 
to  an  open  rupture  in  the  spring,  he  called  another  in 
June,  of  which  James  Graham  was  chosen  speaker. 
The  count  Frontenac  was  then  repairing  the  old 
fort  at  Cadaracqui,  and  the  intelligence  of  this, 
and  the  King's  assignment  of  the  quotas  of  the 
several  colonies,  for  an  united  force*  against  the 


I 


ers, 
e  a 
s  of 
lieir 
s  of 
tual 
dto 


*  As  such  an  union  appeared  to  be  necessary  so  long  ago,  it  is  very  surprising 
that  no  eifectual  scheme  for  that  purpose  has  hitherto  been  carried  into  full 
execution.  A  plan  was  concerted,  in  the  groat  congress  consisting  of  commis- 
sioners from  several  colonies,  ^et  at  Albany,  in  17.')4 ;  but  what  approbation  it 
received  at  home,  has  not.  hitherto  beer  made  public.  The  danger  to  Great 
Britain,  apprehended  from  our  united  force,  is  founded  in  a  total  ignorance  of 
the  true  state  and  character  of  the  colonies.  None  of  his  majesty's  subjects 
are  more  loyal,  or'  more  strongly  attached  to  Protestant  principles ;  and  the 
remarkable  attestr.tion,  in  the  elegant  address  of  the  lords,  of  the  13th  of  No- 
vember, 1755,  in  our  favour, "  That  we  are  a  great  body  of  bravo  and  faithful 
subjects,"  is  as  justly  duo  to  us  as  it  was  nobly  said  by  thciu. 


i 


l1 


-*~jf ---•—- 


(1  ' 


a 


13t> 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YUKK. 


'U 


I- 


(: 


t! 


ii 


French,  were  the  principal  matters  which  the  governor 
laid  before  the  assembly.  The  list  of  the  quotas 
was  this :      '  ..,•.-«:  .••._■„        '  •  ,j,,,  ■ 

Pennsylvania £  80 

Massachusetts  Bay 350 

Maryland 160 

Virginia 240 

Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantation 48 

Connecticut 120 

New- York 200 

As  a  number  of  the  forces  were  now  arrived,  the 
assembly  were  in  hopes  the  province  would  be  reliev- 
ed from  raising  any  more  men  for  the  defence  of  the 
frontiers ;  and,  to  obtain  this  favour  of  the  governor 
ordered  £1000  to  be  levied,  one  half  to  be  pre- 
sented to  him,  and  the  rest  he  had  leave  to  distribute 
among  the  English  officers  and  soldiers.  A  bill  for 
this  purpose  was  drawn,  but  though  his  excellency 
thanked  them  for  their  favourable  intention,  he 
thought  it  not  for  his  honour  to  consent  to  it.  After 
passing  several  laws  the  session  broke  up  in  perfect 
harmony,  the  governor  in  his  great  grace  recom- 
mending it  to  the  house  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  examine  the  public  accounts  against  the  next 
session. 

In  September,  Fletcher  went  up  to  Albany  with 
very  considerable  presents  to  the  Indians ;  whom  he 
blamed  for  suffering  the  French  to  rebuild  the  fort 
at  Cadaracqui,  or  Frontenac,  which  commands  the 
entrance  from  Canada  into  the  greai  lake  Ontario. 
While  these  works  were  carrying  on,  the  Dionon- 
dadies,  who  were  then  poorly  supplied  by  the  French, 
made  overtures  of  a  peace  with  the  Five  Nations. 


».  r^v  ■»»*-»■-»- 


■  >#*«*J*-—^'i«^^.-: 


■»—  ■.■m-ftv-  ,»».»i...*Mj- 


HISTORY  OP   NEW-YORK. 


137 


which  the  latter  readily  embraced,  because  it  was 
owing  to  their  fears  of  these  Indians,  who  lived 
near  the  lake  Missilimakinac,  that  they  never  dared 
to  march  with  their  whole  strength  against  Canada. 
The  French  commandant  was  fully  sensible  of  the 
importance  of  preventing  this  alliance.  The  civili- 
ties of  the  Dionondadies  to  the  prisoners  by  whom 
the  treaty,  to  prevent  a  discovery,  was  negotiated, 
gave  the  officer  the  first  suspicion  of  it.  One  of 
these  wretches  had  the  unhappiness  to  fi  '1  into  thi^ 
hand&  of  the  French,  who  put  him  to  the  most  ex- 
quisite torments,  that  all  future  intercourse  with  the 
Dionondadies  might  be  cut  off.  Dr.  Colden,  in  just 
resentment  for  this  inhuman  barbarity,  has  published 
the  whole  process  from  La  Potherie's  history  of 
North  America,  and  it  is  this  :  ^, 

"  The  prisoner  being  first  made  fast  to  a  stake, 
so  as  to  have  room  to  move  round  it,  a  Frenchman 
began  the  horrid  tragedy  by  broiling  the  flesh  of 
the  prisoner's  legs  from  his  toes  to  his  knees,  with 
the  red-hot  barrel  of  a  gun.  His  example  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  Utawawa,  who  being  desirous  to  outdo 
the  French  in  their  refined  cruelty,  split  a  furrow 
from  the  prisoner's  shoulder  to  his  garter,  and  filling 
it  with  gun-powder,  set  fire  to  it.  This  gave  him 
exquisite  pain,  and  raised  excessive  laughter  in  his 
tormentors.  When  they  found  his  throat  so  much 
parched,  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  gratify  their 
ears  with  his  howling,  they  gave  him  water  to  ena- 
ble him  to  continue  their  pleasure  longer.  But  at 
last  his  strength  failing,  an  Utawuvva  flayed  ofl*  his 
scalp,  ard  threw  burning  hot  coals  on  his  scull. 
They  then  untied  him,  and  bid  h^m  run  for  his  life, 
vor.  T. — 1f^ 


i  sl 


fi 

I 


f  1 


I 


fc.^.^  -"•W^^.^.^^v^^.^^    * 


13« 


HISTORY   OF  NEW- YORK. 


I 


.)■  u 


/ 


He  began  to  run,^  tumbling  like  a  drunken  mair. 
They  shut  up  the  way  to  the  east,  and  made  him  run 
westward,  the  country,  as  they  think,  of  departed 
miserable  souls.  He  hn<l  still  force  left  to  throw 
stones,  till  they  put  an  end  to  his  misery  by  knocking* 
him  on  the  head.  After  this  every  one  cut  a  slice 
from  his  body,  to  conclude  the  tragedy  with  a  feast." 

From  the  time  Colonel  Fletcher  received  his 
instruction  respecting  the  quotas  of  these  colonies 
for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers,  he  repeatedly,  but 
in  vain,  urged  their  compliance  with  the  king's  direc- 
tion; he  then  carried ^his  complaints  against  them 
home  to  his  majesty,  but  all  his  applications  were 
defeated  by  the  agents  of  those  colonies  who  resided 
in  England.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  had  laid 
this  matter  before  the  assembly,  in  autuum,  1695, 
the  house  appointed  William  Nicol  to  go  home  in 
the  quality  of  an  agent  for  this  province,  for  which 
they  allowed  him  £  1 000.  But  his  solicitatii  »ns  proved 
unsuccessful,  and  the  instruction  relating  to  these 
quotas,  which  is  still  continued,  remains  unnoticed 
to  this  day.  Fletcher  maintained  &  good  corres- 
pondence with  the  assembly  through  the  rest  of  his 
administration ;  and  nothing  appears  upon  their 
journals  worth  the  reader's  attention. 

The  French  never  had  a  governor  in  Canada  so 
vigilant  and  active  as  the  count  de  Frontenac.  He 
had  no  sooner  repaired  the  old  fort  called  by  his 
name,  than  he  formed  a  design  of  invading  the  coun- 
try of  the  Five  Nations  with  a  great  army.  For  this 
purpose,  in  1696,  he  convened  at  Montreal,  all  the 
regulars  as  well  as  Militia  under  his  command ;  the 
Owenagungas,  Q,uatoghies  of  Loretto,  Adirondacks, 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORfc. 


MP 


a  so 

He 

his 

loun- 

this 

the 

the 

cks. 


l?9okak!Os,  Nipicirinien»,  the  proselyted  praying  In- 
dians of  the  Kive  Natitms.  and  a  few  Utawavvas. 
Instead  of  wagons  and  horses,  which  are  useless  in 
such  a  country  ash»f  had  to  inarch  through,  the  army 
was  conveyed  through  rivers  and  lakes  in  light 
bnrks,  which  were  portable  whenever  the  rapidity  of 
the  sfeani  and  tho  crossinir  nn  isthmus  rendered  it 
necessary.  'I'ho  count  left  La  Chine,  at  the  south 
end  of  the  island  of  Montreal,  on  the  7th  of  July. 
Two  battalions  of  regulars,  under  the  command  of 
Le  Chevalier  de  Callieres,  headed  by  a  number  of 
Indians,  led  the  van,  with  two  small  pieces  of  can- 
non, the  mortars,  grenadoes,  and  ammunition.  After 
them  followed  the  provisions  :  then  the  main  body, 
with  the  count's  householr',  a  considerable  number 
of  volunteers,  and  the  engineer;  and  four  battalions 
of  the  militia  commanded  by  Monsieur  De  Ramezai, 
governor-of  Trois  Rivieres  Two  battalions  of  regu- 
lars and  a  few  Indians,  under  the  Chevalier  de  Vau- 
drucil,  brought  up  the  rear. 

Before  the  army  went  a  parcel  of  scouts,  to 
descry  the  tracks  and  ambuscades  of  the  enemy. 
After  twelve  days  march,  they  arrived  at  Cadaracqui, 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from  Montreal, 
and  then  crossed  the  lake  to  Oswego.  Fifty  m^ 
marched  on  each  side  of  the  Onondaga  river,  which 
is  narrow  and  rapid.  When  they  entered  the  little 
lake*,  the  army  divided  into  two  parts,  coasting  along 
the  edges,  that  the  enemy  might  be  uncertain  as  to 
the  place  of  their  landing;  and  where  they  did  land 

•■'  Tlio  Onondaga  or  Oneida  Lake,  noted  for  a  good  salt  pit  at  the  south-east 
end ;  wliich,  as  it  may  be  very  advantageous  to  the  garrison  at  Oswego,  it  is 
ped  the  ffovemment  will  never  giant  to  any  private  company. 


li 

J 

X 

i 


I 


1 
i 


,\ 


'*  ii 


l^ 


HISTORY    Ol'    i\E>V-YOUI\. 


1^ 


they  erected  a  fort.     The  Onondagas  had  sent  away 
their  wives  and  children,  and  were  determined  to 
defend  their  castle,  till  they  were  informed  by  a  de- 
serter of  the  superior  ntrengih  of  the  French,  and  the 
nature  of  bombs,  which  were  intended  to  be  used 
against  thorn  ;  and  then,  after  setting  fire  to  their 
village,  they  retired  into  the  Wi)ods.     As  soon   as 
the  count  heard  of  this,  he  marched  to  their  huts  in 
order  of  battle ;  being  himself  carried  in  an  elbow 
chair  behind  the  artillery.     With  this  mighty  appa- 
ratus he  entered  it,  and  the  destruction  of  a  little 
Indian  corn  was  the  great  acquisition.    A  brave  sa- 
chem, then  about  a  hundred  years  old,  was  the  only 
person  who  tarried  in  the  castle  to  salute  the  old 
general.     The  French  Indians  put  him  to  torment, 
which  he  endured  with  astonishing  presence  of  mind. 
To  one  who  stabbed  him  with  a  knife,  "you  had 
better,"  says  he,  "  make  me  die  by  fire,  that  these 
French  dogs  may  learn  how  to  suffer  like  men  :  you 
Indians,  their  allies,  you  dogs  of  dogs,  think  of  me 
when  you  are  in  the  like  condition."*     This  sachem 
was  the  only  man  of  all  the  Onondrigas  that  was 
killed  ;  and  had  not  thirty-five  Oneidas,  who  waited 
to  receive  Vaudrueil  at  their  castles,  been  afterwards 
bisely  carried  into  captivity,  the  count  would  have 
returned  without  the  least  mark  of  triumph.  As  soon 
as  he  began  his  retreat  the  Onondagas  followed, 
and  annoyed  his  army  by  cutting  tiff'sevcral  battcaux. 
This  expensive    enterprise,   and    the  continual 
incursions  of  the  Five  Nations  on  the  country  near 
Montreal,  again  spread  a  famine  through  all  Canada. 


*  "  Never  perhaps  (says  Charlevoix)  was  a  man  treated  with  more  cruelly, 
nor  did  any  ever  lew  it  with  superior  magnanimity  and  rcs-oUition." 


■  •**ftii  j^^^  ^  ,1^ . , 


X- 7 


msToitv   Ul'  M<;VV-VOHK. 


141 


»l< 


The  count,  however,  kept  up  his  spirits  to  the  last, 
and  sent  out  scalping  parties,  who  infested  Albany 
as  our  Indians  did  Montreal,  till  the  treaty  of  peace 
signed  at  Ryswick,  in  1697 

Richard,  Earl  of  Bcllornont,  was  appointed  to 
succeed  cohinel  FMetcher,  in  the  year  1695,  but  did 
not  receive  his  commission  till  the  ItUh  of  June, 
1697  ;  and  as  he  delayed  his  voyage  till  after  the 
peace  of  Ryswick,  which  was  signed  the  10th  of 
September  following,  he  was  blown  off  our  coast  to 
Barbadoes,  and  did  not  arrive  here  before  the  2d  of 
April,  1698. 

During  the  late  war  the  seas  were  extrerrely 
infested  with  English  pirates,  tsorne  of  whom  saikd 
out  of  New-Yorfti|lf  .nd  it  was  strongly  suspected 
that  they  had  received  too  much  countenance  hero, 
even  from  the  government,  during  Fletcher's  ad- 
ministration. His  lordship's  pr(»niotion  to  the  chief 
command  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  and  New  Hamp- 
shire, as  well  as  this  province;,  was  owing  partly  to 
his  rank,  but  principally  to  the  affair  of  the  pirates  ; 
and  the  multiplicity  of  business  to  which  the  charge 
of  three  colonies  would  necessarily  expose  him, 
induced  the  earl  to  bring  over  with  him  John  Nanfan, 
his  kinsman,  in  the  quality  of  our  lieutenantgovernor." 
When  lord  Bellomont  was  appointed  to  the  gov^^rn- 
ment  of  these  provinces,  the  king  did  him  the  honour 
to  say  "  that  he  thought  him  a  man  of  resolution 
and  integrity,  and  with  these  qualities  more  likely 
than  any  other  he  could  think  of  to  put  a  stop  to 
the  growth  of  piracy." 


i 

I      V, 

.'    1 


(I 


i 


k 


*  His  commission  was  ilated  the  1st  of  July,  1G97. 


** 


I 


«• 


•p 


142 


msTOUY   Ol'   ISKW-VOUK. 


I 

I  < 
I.. 


f 


I'l 


w 


■  i 


Before  the  earl  set  out  for  Arncricn,  lie  bcciune 
ac(iuaiiite(J  willi  Robert  LivingHtnn,  eyq.*  who  was 
then  in  Eniriiiiul.  soliciting  liis  own  qHiuih  before 
tiie  Cduncil  un«i  the  treasury.  The  earl  look  occaMion, 
in  one  of  his  conferences  with  Mr.  Livingston,  to 
mention  the  scandal  the  province  was  under  on 
account  of  the  pirates.  The  latter,  who  confesned 
it  was  not  without  reason,  brought  the  earl  acquainted 
with  one  Kid,  whom  he  recommended  as  a  man  of 
integrity  and  courage,  tiiat  knew  the  pirates  and 
their  rendezvous,  and  would  undertake  to  apprehend 
them,  if  th(  ving  wouhl  employ  liim  in  a  good 
suiling  frigate  of  thirty  guns  and  onu  hundred  and 
fifty  men  The  earl  laid  the  proposal  before  the 
king,  who  consulted  the  admirall^l^Apon  that  subject; 
but  this  project  dropped,  through  the  uncertainty 
of  the  adventure,  and  the  French  war,  which  gave 
full  employment  to  all  the  ships  in  the  navy.  Mr. 
Livingston  then  proposed  a  private  adventure  against 
the  pirates,  oJlering  to  be  concorncd  with  Kid  a  fifth 
part  in  the  ship  and  charges,  and  to  be  bound  for 
Kid's  faithful  execution  of  the  commission.  The 
king  then  approved  of  the  desiyn,  and  reserved  a 
tenth  share  to  show  that  he  was  concerned  in  the 
enterprise.  liord  chancellor  S^omers,  the  duke  of 
Shrewsbury,  the  earls  of  Romney  and  Oxford,  Sir 


I 


'*  This  gontleinan  was  a  son  of  Mr.  John  [.ivingston,  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners from  Scotland  to  King  Clinrles  II.  wiiilo  lie  wu;;  iin  I'xilo  at  Breda.  Ilu 
was  a  clergyman  distint^uished  by  hif!  zeal  and  induKtry ;  and  for  his  opposition 
to  episcopacy,  became  so  obnoxious  ui'tor  tho  Ilusturation  to  tho  English  court, 
that  he  loll  Scotland,  and  took  the  pastoral  cliargo  of  an  English  prcsbytcrian 
church  in  Rotterdam.  His  doscendantB  arc  very  numerous  in  this  province,  and 
Ihe  family  in  the  first  rank  for  tlieir  wcnllli.  morals,  and  education.  I'he  original 
Diary,  m  the  hand-writing  of  tlieir  common  ancestor,  is  still  ar.ionust  them,  and 
contains  a  historv  of  his  life. 


_  '■SSiii.^ 


iriNTOUY  OF  NF;w-YOkr(. 


14*3 


Edmund  Ilnrrison  and  others,  joined  in  the  scheme, 
agreeing  to  the  expense  of  .C()«»00.     But  the  man- 
agement of  the  whohi  attair  was  left  to  lord  Jkdlo- 
mont,  who  gave  orders  to  Kid  to  pursue  fiis  com- 
mission, which  was  in  oonimou  form.     Kid  saiUul 
from  IMymonth  for  New-York,  in  April,  1690;  and 
afterwards  turned  pirate,  burnt  his  sliip,  and  came 
to  Boston,  where  the  carl  fippn-liendcfl  him.     His 
lordship  wrote  to  the  secretary  of  state,  desiring 
that  Kid  might  be  sent  for.     The  Rochester  man- 
of-war  was  dispatch(;d  upon  this  service,  but  b(!ing 
driven  back,  a  general  suspicion  prevailed  in  Eng- 
land, that  all    was  rolinsion  between  the  ministry 
and   the  adv<'ntnrers,   who,  it  was  thought,   were 
unwilling  Kid  should  b'>  broughr  home,  lest  he  might 
discover  that  the  chancellor,  J  le  duke,  and  others, 
were  confederates  in  the  pir  cy      The  matter  even 
proceeded  to  such  ler  :  hs,  that  a  mo' jn  was  made 
in  the  house  of  comr  ous;,  that  all  who  were  con- 
cerned in  the  adventure  might  be  turned  out  of 
their  employnu-nts,  but  it  was  rejected  by  a  great 
majority. 

The  tory  party  who  excited  these  clamours,  though 
they  lost  their  motion  in  the  house,  afterwards 
impeached  several  whig  lords ;  and,  among  other 
articles,  charged  them  with  being  concerned  in 
Kid^s  piracy.  But  these  prosecutions  served  only 
to  brighter  -'le  innocency  of  those  against  whom 
they  were  brought ;  for  the  impeached  lords  were 
honourably  acquitted  by  their  peers. 

Lord  Bellomont's  commission  was  published  iu 
council  on  the  day  of  his  arrival ;  colonel  Fletcher, 
who  still  remained  governor  under  the  proprietors 


:\ 


;\l 


4 


144 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YOttK. 


i\    i 


of  Pennsylvania,  and  lieutenant  governor  Nanfan 
being  present.     The  members  of  the  council  were, 

if.  Frederick  PiiiLiPSE,  William  Nicoll, 

Stephen  Van  CoRTLANDT,  Thomas  Willet,      . 
;   Nicholas  Bayard,  William PiNH0RNE,y 

Gabriel  Mienvielle,         John  Lawrence,     -i^ 
William  Smith,  ...  „     , 

After  the  earl  had  dispatched  captain  John  Schuy- 
ler and  Dellius,  the  Dutch  minister  of  Albany,  to 
Canada  with  the  account  of  the  peace,  and  to 
solicit  a  mutual  exchange  of  prisoners,  he  laid 
before  the  council  the  letters  from  secretary  Vernon 
and  the  East  India  Company,  relating  to  the  pirates  ; 
informing  that  board  that  'le  had  an  affidavit,  that 
Fletcher  had  permitted  them  to  land  their  spoils  in 
this  province,  and  that  Mr  Nicoll  bargained  for 
their  protections,  and  received  for  his  services  eight 
hundred  Spanish  dollars.  Nicoll  confessed  the 
receipt  of  the  money  for  protections,  but  said  that 
it  was  in  virtue  of  a  late  act  of  assembly,  allowing 
privateers  on  their  giving  security ;  but  he  denied 
the  receipt  of  any  money  from  known  pirates.  One 
Weaver  was  admitted  at  this  time  into  the  council 
chamber,  and  acted  in  the  quality  of  king^s  council ; 
and  in  answer  to  Mr.  Nicoll,  denied  that  there 
was  any  such  act  of  assembly  as  he  mentioned. 
After  considering  the  whole  matter,  the  council 
advised  his  excellency  to  send  Fletcher  home,  but  to 
try  Nicoll  here,  because  his  estate  would  not  bear  th6 
expense  of  a  trial  in  England.  Their  advice  was 
never  carried  into  execution,  which  was  probably 
owing  to  a  want  of  evidence  againist  *he  parties 


^* 


A'" 


■•i>r.  '. 


HISTOKY  OP   NEW-YOKK. 


145 


»g 


PS 


1 

accused.  It  is  nevertheless  certain,  that  the  pirates 
were  frequently  in  the  sound,  and  supplied  with 
provisions  by  the  inhabitants  of  Long-Island,  who 
for  many  years  afterwards  w  ere  so  infatuated  with  a 
notion  that  the  pirates  buried  great  quantities  of 
money  along  the  coast,  that  th<^re  is  seance  a  point  of 
land,  or  an  island,  without  the  marks  of  their  auri 
sacra  fames,  Some  credulous  people  have  ruined 
themselves  by  these  researches,  and  propagated  a 
thousand  idle  fables,  current  to  this  day  among  our 
country  farmers.   u\':.    -.'M"-:    ■  -r -■,.■': 'W^;'^';i^tW^'' 

As  Fletcher,  through  fhe  whole  of  his  administra- 
tion, had  been  entirely  influenced  by  the  enemies  of 
Leisler,  nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  the 
numerous  adherents  of  that  unhappy  man,  than  the 
earl's  disaffection  to  the  late  governor.  It  was  for 
this  reason  they  immediately  devoted  themselves  to ' 
his  lordship  as  the  head  of  their  party. 

The  majority  of  tlie  members  of  the  council  were 
Fletcher's  friends,  and  there  needed  nothing  more 
to  render  them  obnoxious  to  his  lordship.  Leisler's, 
advocates  at  the  same  time  mortally  hated  them ; 
not  only  because  they  had  imbrued  their  hands  in 
the  blood  of  the  principal  men  of  their  party,  but 
also  because  they  had  engrossed  the  sole  confidence 
of  the  late  governor,  and  brought  down  his  resent- 
ment upon  them  Hence,  at  the  commencement  of 
the  earl's  administration,  the  members  of  the  council 
had  every  thing  to  fear ;  while  the  party  they  had 
depressed  began  once  again  to  erect  its  head  under 
the  smiles  of  a  governor  who  was  fond  of  their  aid, 
as  they  were  solicitous  to  conciliate  his  favour.  Had 
VOL.  1. — 19 


^  I  h 


i>».,.«w»»' """"'"' 


146 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YORK. 


y 


! 


')!' 


>/■ 


■>'. 


mi 


1: 


V 

t 


the  earl  countenanced  the  enemies  as  well  as  the 
friends  of  Leisler,  which  he  might  have  done,  his 
administration  would  doubtless  have  been  easier  to 
himself  and  advantageous  to  the  province ;  but  his 
inflexible  aversion  to  Fletcher  prevented  his  acting 
with  that  moderation  which  was  necessary  to  enable 
him  to  govern  both  parties.  The  fire  of  his  temper 
appeared  very  early,  on  his  suspending  Mr.  NicoU 
from  the  board  of  council,  and  obliging  him  to  enter 
into  a  recognizance  in  £2000,  to  answer  for  his 
conduct  relating  to  the  protections.  But  his  speech 
to  the  new  assembly  convened  on  the  1 8th  of  May, 
gave  the  fullest  evidence  of  his  abhorrence  of  the 
late  administration.  Philip  French  was  chosen 
speal  er,  and  waited  upon  his  excellency  with  the 
house,  when  his  lordship  spoke  to  them  in  the 
following  manner : 

"  I  cannot  but  observe  to  you  what  a  legacy  my 
predecessor  has  left  me,  and  what  difiiculties  to 
struggle  with ;  a  divided  people,  an  empty  purse,  a 
few  miserable  naked  half-starved  soldiers,  not  half 
the  number  the  king  allowed  pay  for:  the  fortifications 
and  even  the  governor's  hous(;  very  much  out  of  repair, 
and  in  a  word  the  whole  government  out  of  frame-  It 
hath  been  represented  to  the  government  in  England ; 
that  this  province  has  been  a  noted  receptacle  of 
pirates,  and  the  trade  of  it  under  no  restriction,  but 
the  acts  of  Trade  violated  by  the  neglect  and  con- 
nivance of  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  have  pre- 
vented it."  ' ,  -      '        ' 

After  this  introduction  he  puts  them  in  mind  that 
the  revenue  was  near  expiring.     "  It  would  be  hard, 


HISTORY   OF    NEW-YORK. 


147 


says  he,  if  I  that  come  among  you  with  an  honest 
mind  and  a  resolution  to  be  just  to  your  interest, 
should  meet  with  greater  difficulties  in  the  discharge 
of  his  majesty's  service  than  those  that  have  gone 
before  me.  I  will  take  care  there  shall  be  no 
misapplication  of  the  public  money.  I  will  pocket 
none  of  it  myself,  nor  shall  there  be  any  embezzle- 
ment by  others  ;  but  exact  accounts  shall  be  given 
you  when  and  as  often  as  you  shall  require." 

It  was  customary  with  Fletcher  to  be  present  in 
the  field  to  influence  elections ;  and  as  the  assembly 
consisted  at  this  time  of  but  nineteen  members,  they 
were  too  easily  influenced  to  serve  the  private  ends 
of  a  faction.  For  that  reason,  his  lordship  was  warm 
in  a  scheme  of  increasing  their  number  at  present  to 
thirty,  and  so  in  proportion  as  the  colony  became 
more  populous;  and  hence  we  find  the  following- 
clause  in  his  speech  "  You, cannot  but  know  what 
abuses  have  been  formerly  in  elections  of  members 
to  serve  in  the  general  assembly,  which  .tends  to  the 
subversion  of  your  liberties.  I  do  therefore  recom- 
mend the  making  of  a  law  to  provide  against  it." 

The  house,  though  unanimous  in  a  hearty  address 
of  thanks  to  the  governor  for  his  speech,  could  scarce 
agree  upon  any  thing  else.  It  was  not  till  the  be- 
ginning of  June  that  they  had  finished  the  contro- 
versies relating  to  the  late  turbu-:  at  elections;  and 
even  then  six  members  secedeci  fiom  the  house, 
which  obliged  his  excellency  to  dissolve  the  assembly 
on  the  14th  of  June,  1698.  About  the  same  time  the 
governor  dismissed  two  of  the  council ;  Pinhorne, 
for  disrespectful  words  of  the  king,  and  Brook,  the 
receiver-general,  who  was  also  turned  out  of  that 


)i 


■fF 


~.^. 


148 


lifSTOKY    OF   NEW-YOUK. 


I! 


in 


office  as  well  as  removed  from  his  place  on  the 

bench.  ;^if'«^,'wiri*s^'A"^^-:.  -■■• --;■^-^^v•"^•.^^■,••,•.,  .:  -■  , 
i.  Ill  July,  the  deputies  from  the  French  concerning 
the  exchanging  of  prisoners,  obliged  his  excellency 
to  go  up  to  Albany.  When  the  earl  sent  the  account 
of  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  to  the  governor  of 
Canada,  all  the  French  prisont;rs  in  our  custody  were 
restored,  and  as  to  those  among  the  Indians,  he 
promised  to  order  them  to  be  safely  escorted  to 
Montreal.  His  lordship  then  added,  "  I  doubt  not, 
sir,  that  you  on  your  part  will  also  issue  an  order  to 
relieve  the  subjects  of  the  king  captivated  during  the 
war,  whether  chrir<tians  or  Indians." 

The  count  fearful  of  being  drawn  into  an  implicit 
acknowledgment  that  the  Five  Nations  w«re  subject 
to  the  English  crown,  demanded  the  French  prison- 
ers among  the  Indians  to  be  brought  to  Montreal ; 
threatening  at  the  same  time  to  continue  the  war 
against  the  confederates  if  they  did  not  comply  with 
his  request.  After  the  earl's  interview  with  them  he 
wrote  a  second  letter*  to  the  count,  informing  him 
that  they  had  importunately  begged  to  continue  under 
the  protection  of  the  English  crown,  professing  an 
inviolable  subjection  and  fidelity^  to  his  majesty  ;  and 
that  the  Five  Nations  were  always  considered  as 
subjects ;  which,  says  his  lordship,  "  can  be  mani- 
fested to  all  the  world  by  authentic  and  solid  proofs  " 
His  lordship  added  that  he  would  not  suffer  them  to 
be  insulted,  and  threatened  to  execute  the  laws  of 
England  upon  the  missionaries,  if  they  continued 


i^ 


*  Charlevoix  lias  published  both  these  letters  at  large,  together  with  count 
Frontenac^s  answer.  I  have  had  no  opportunity  of  inquiring  into  the  Jesuit's 
integrity  in  these  transcripts,  being  unable  to  find  his  lordsliip's  letters  in  the 
secretary's  oflice. 


HISTOllY   OP   NEW-YOUK. 


149 


any  longer  in  the  Five  Cantons.  A  resolute  spirit 
runs  through  the  whole  letter,  which  concludes  in 
these  words:  'if  it  is  necessary  I  will  arm  every 
man  in  the  provinces  under  my  government,  to 
oppose  you,  and  redress  the  inj'iry  that  you  may 
perpetrate  against  our  Indians."  The  count  in  his 
answer  proposed  to  refer  the  dispute  to  the  commis- 
saries, to  be  appointed  according  to  the  treaty  of 
Ryswick  ;*  but  the  earl  continued  the  claim,  insisting 
that  the  French  prisoners  should  be  delivered  up  at 
Albany. 

The  French  count  dying  while  this  matter  was 
controverted.  Monsieur  De  Callieres  hid  successor, 
sent  ambassadors  the  next  year  to  Onondaga,  there 
to  regulate  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  which  was 
accomplished  without  the  earl's  consent ;  and  thus 
the  important  point  in  dispute  remained  unsettled. 
The  Jesuit  Bruyas  who  was  upon  this  embassage, 
offered  to  live  at  Onondaga,  but  the  Indians  refused 
his  belt,  saying  that  Corlear  or  the  governor  of  New- 
York,  had  already  offered  them  ministers  for  their 
instruction       >         ,  .    -       '^  . '       '-^  ' 

Great  alterations  were  made  in  council  at  his  ex- 
cellency's return  from  Albany.  Bayard,  Meinvielle, 
Willet,  Townly,  and  Lawrence,  were  all  suspended 
on  the  28th  of  September;  and  colonel  Abraham 
Depeyster,  Robert  X^ivingston,  and  Samuel  Staats, 
called  to  that  b^ard.  The  next  day  Frederick 
Philipse  resigned  his  seat,  and  Robert  Walters  was 
sworn  in  his  stead.  ,  .,'   ,,      .. 


I . 


r 


11 


*  The  count  misunderstood  the  treaty.  No  ^ovision  was  made  by  it  for 
commissaries  to  settle  the  limits  between  the  English  and  French  possessions,  but 
only  to  examine  xH  determine  the  controv;'-*;  '  rights  and  pretensions  to  Hud- 
son's Bay. 


f 


4 


•  ^***is^  ■ 


■*;•    •^^^•««'««P*#4BiS^3?SW^^ 


150 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YOUK. 


>" 


■I 


U, 


•  The  earl  assigned  as  reasons  for  Mr.  Bayard's 
suspension,  j  - .-■?•, ;,^       ;•  ».    .,,  .)^ 

1.  That  he  advised  governor  Fletcher  to  issue  a 
proclamation  for  the  currency  of  dog  dollars,  contrary 
to  his  oath  and  the  kiag'te  iisstructions.         ,, 

2.  Tliat  he  cotinneci  at  a;i  illegal  commerce  with 
foreign  ships  at  N<;««,- ITork. 

3.  That  he  cornivfid  .i»  F)  tcho;  f  granting  cora- 
mi^sioiis  to  pirates  manned  here  ior  the  Red  Sea ; 
procnrod'  pro?^e^tions  from  the  governor,  and  re- 
ceived .1  reward;  advised  to  a  piratical  ship^s  being 
admitted  n>(!>  pori  with  her  spoils,  and  connived  at 
Fletcher's  rr  cetpt  of  presents  from  pirates. 

4.  That  ?«e  advised  to  M'^tchcr's  frequent  misap- 
plications and  embezzlements  of  the  king's  revenue, 
and  other  moneys  appropriated  by  the  assembly  for 
special  and  public  uses.  --      .'v. 

5.  That  he  advised  to  extravagant  grants,  and 
took  one  to  himself  of  land  belonging  to  the  Mo- 
hawks, as  large  as  one  of  the  middle  counties  in 
England,  without  referring  a  reasonable  quit  rent. 

6.  That  he  advised  the  governor's  going  into  the 
field  at  elections,  where  he  named  members  for  the 
assembly  with  threatening  and  abusive  language.    . 

"  7.  That  he  connived  at  the  governor's  neglect  of 
the  frontiers.  .^^  '_       >/  « 

8.  That  he  advised  the  printing  a  scandalous  and 
malicious  pamphlet,  entitled  a  letter  from  a  gentle- 
man of  the  city  of  i\ew-York  to  pnother,  concerning 
the  troubles  which  happened  in  this  province  in  the 
time  of  the  late  happy  revolution,  to  stir  up  sedition 
and  inflame  the  coldny,  in  compliance  with  Fletcher's 
wicked  designs,  t.  o^ratify  his  own  implacable  ma'cf. 


HISTORY  OP   NEW-YORK. 


151 


against  those  who  were  most  active  in  the  revolu- 


tion. 


.Jv 


>?■  -1. 


:'.  fr^y-wf^r-v; 


9.  That  a  few  days  after  his  (lord  BeIIan)ont*s) 
arrival,  he  confederated  with  several  persons  disaf- 
fected to  his  majesty's  government,  in  an  address  to 
governor  Fletcher,  applauding  his  justice  in  counte- 
nancing illicit  trade,  and  at  the  same  time  upbraided 
the  earl  as  discouraging  commerce  by  issuing  his 
warrant  for  seizing  the  ship  Fortune  and  goods  un- 
lawfully imported  in  that  bottom. 

10.  That  contrary  to  his  duty  and  oath  he  conspired . 
against  the  king's  government,  by  raising  scandalous 
reports  to  misrepresent  his  lordship's  government, 
and  assisted  in  forging  several  false  and  groundless 
articles  against  his  lordship,  and  without  his  know- 
ledge. 

Mr.  Bayard  gave  a  written  answer  from  New- 
Jersey  on  the  17th  of  October,  1698,  thirteen  days 
after  he  had  a  copy  of  the  charges  against  him  ;  and 
intended,  as  it  appears  from  his  letter  to  his  lordship, 
to  sail  for  England.  This  defence  follows  the  order 
of  the  impeachments.  The  proclamation  he  alleges 
was  issued  with  the  advice  of  the  attorney-general 
as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  council  board,  and  fixed  a 
dog  dollar  at  five  shillings  and  sixpence,  though  cur- 
rent in  other  colonies  at  six  shillings.  That  this 
money  had  and  retained  a  currency  before  and  after 
the  proclamation,  and  if  the  treasury  had  lost  by  the 
receipt  of  them,  he  offered  to  exchange  them  out  of. 
his  own  purse. 

The  second  article  he  absolutely  denies,  and  to 
account  for  the  third,  he  says  that  several  years  pre- 
vious he  had  by  letter  to  governor  Fletcher,  then  at 


i 

Si 


t  ffj 


'I 


l! 


1  v' 


^■**\-'i 


P'^ 


)\ 


152 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


\   \ 


Philadelphia,  requested  his  favor  in  behalf  of  one 
Thomas  Lewis,  who  had  been  abroad  in  a  priva- 
teer, some  of  the  crew  of  which  had  killed  the  mas- 
ter; and  of  one  Barent  Rynderson  a  comrade  of 
Lewis.  That  the  letter  was  written  at  the  request 
of  their  neighbours  Leenders  Lewis  and  Samuel 
Staats  ;  the  former  a  brother  to  Thomas  Lewis,  and 
the  other  brother-in-law  to  Barent  Ryndercton,  and 
one  of  his  lordship's  new  counsellors,  and  very  soli- 
citous to  procure  governor  Fletcher's  licence  for  the 

.  return  of  their  relations,  and  their  settlement  in  New- 
York.  That  the  governor  granted  the  favour  desired, 
and  inclosed  the  licences  to  him,  which  he  delivered 
to  Leenders  Lewis  and  Samuel  Btaats,  who,  unre- 
quested,  ofTe:  dd  him  a  bag  of  one  hundred  pieces  of 
Eight  for  the  governor,  and  eighteen  or  twenty  du- 
cats for  himself,  both  of  which  he  refused  to  accept 
until  he  was  importuned  to  gratify  their  desire  of 
testifying  their  acknowledgment  of  the  great  favour 
they  had  received ;  and  for  the  confirmation  of  this 
narration  he  urges  an  examination  of  the  four  persons 
above  named,  all  of  them  in  town.  He  adds  that  the 
licences  were  upon  condition  of  continuing  in  tho 
province  and  being  of  the  good  behaviour,  and  at 
that  daj'  were  commonly  called  protections. 

4th.  He  denies  this  charge,  declaring  that  he 
advised  the  borrowing  money  of  the  receiver-general 
about  six  years  before,  to  repel  the  French  who  had 

,  advanced  near  to  Schenectady,  out  of  any  funds  in 
his  hands,  and  had  himself  made  loans  to  the  public 
during  the  war,  and  bound  himself  to  indemnify  Mr. 
Livingston  and  other  lenders,  not  disposed  to  rely 
on  the  justice  of  the  country,  for  their  disbursements. 


<  v^ 


y*^'^ « ' 


H18T0A1<   OF  N£W-YOKK. 


153 


5th.  He  owns  his  grnnt  for  Bchobarie ;  ttiinK'R  it  no 
crim«  to  accept  the  patent ;  assertM  tlia>t  oihtTN  wlio 
had  governor  Duncan's  leave  lu  purch»se  it.  refused 
the  price  demanded,  and  vht»t  then  ne  petitioned 
for  it  and  drove  the  burguin  wi.h  (!te  InditfinM  who 
never  complained,  "except  the  meanest,"  of  the 
sale.  He  applauds  the  patents  to  coluiiel  Schuyler 
and  Don  DeMius.  The  clamours  agaluHt  them  he 
imputes  to  the  envy  of  the  Tnd<an  traders  at  Albany. 
Thinkf  9.ur  approaches  to  the  Indians  conducive  to 
the  spreaditig  of  Christianity.  AssignM  the  desert  ton 
of  the  Cagbnuagas  to  the  thirsl  of  the  Mohawks 
after  instruction  and  the  aid  given  to  them  by  the 
French  for  obtaining  it.  conceives  the  settlement  of 
the  interior  lands  consistent  with  policy,  as  well  as 
piety,  in  better  watching  the  imrigues  of  the  French. 

6th.  He  admits  the  allegation  thnt  the  govetnor 
had  attended  elect'ons;  but  he  denies  thut  it  was 
with  his  advice,  and  he  exculpaies  him  from  the 
charge  of  menacing  the  people,  to  whom  he  heard 
him  recommend  a  peaceaMe  ticket,  wh'ch  was  slight- 
ed and  the  governor  gone  before  the  election. 

7th.  Acquitlin?  the  govern  .  any  negloct  of  the 
frontiers,  he  refutes  the  accusation  of  h's  own  cop- 
nivance  at  this  default,  and  observes  that  the  advice 
of  council  on  these  subjects  weie  nem.  con.  and 
would  expose  persons  still  retained  at  that  board 
to  as  much  censure  as  himself,  who  are  nevertheless 
not  blamed. 

8th.  He  avers  that  *^  ^  pamphlet  excepted  to 

contains  nothing  but  thu  truth  with  respect  to  the 

revolution ;  he  informs  his  lordship  that  lieutenant 

governor  Nrcholson  and  the  council  changed  the 

VOL.  i.~  -20 


J  n 


^::r 


f-^STBll 


:'*<>■«' 


i 


154 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


government  by  a  convention  of  all  the  civil  and 
military  officers,  for  the  purpose  of  executing  mea- 
sures by  them  concerted  till  orders  arrived  from  Eng- 
land. That  this  was  communicated  by  express  to  the 
secretary  of  state  nnf  I  the  lords  of  the  plantation  office, 
long  before  others  applauded  by  his  lordship  thrust 
themselves  into  power  for  private  ends,  imposing 
reports  upon  the  public  of  jacobit*  s  and  papists,  of 
whom  there  were  not  ten  in  the  colony.  He  avows 
his  own  zeal  for  the  revolution,  but  that  he  thought 
tLj  o^.H-iuiion'^  here  ought  to  have  been  conducted 
according  to  intimations  from  home,  and  according 
to  the  examples  of  Virginia.  Burbadoti!  and  Jamaica, 
without  altering  the  colony  constitution  until  orders 
were  received  for  that  purpose  from  England. 

He  recapitulates  his  sufferings  under  the  ruling 
party,  driven  into  exile  and  imprisoned  ai.  .^r  fourteen 
months,  bail  refused,  fettered  with  irons,  robbed,  and 
that  he  still  remains  unredressed. 

And  to  the  9th  and  }'  h  articles  le  -^nposed  a  flat 
and  peremptory  denial  of  their  truth. 

The  new  assembly,  of  which  James  Ciaham  was 
chosen  speaker,  met  in  the  sprmg.  His  e  -^ellency 
spoke  to  them  on  the  21st  of  March,  1699. 

As  the  late  assembly  was  principally  comp(  d 
of  anti  Leislerians,  so  this  consisted  almost  entirely 
oi  the  opposite  party.  The  elections  were  attended 
with  great  outrage  and  tumult,  and  many  applica- 
tions made  r  ^lating  to  the  returns  ;  but  as  Abraham 
Governeur,  who  had  be^n  secretary  to  Leisler,  got 
ret'^'^Aod  for  Orange  county,  and  was  very  active  in 
the  tiQuse,*  all  the  petitions  were  rejected  without 
-er  monv.  -  ,  ; 

^  Mr.  Governeur  married  MilbornuV  widow. 


, 


IIIHTOIIY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


155 


-  Among  tho  principal  acts  passed  at  this  session, 
there  was  one  for  indemnifying  those  who  were  ex- 
cepted out  of  the  general  pardon  in  1691 ;  another 
against  pirates ;  one  for  tho  Hettl<*ment  of  Milborne'a 
estate  ;  and  another  to  raise  fifleen  hundred  pounds 
as  a  present  to  his  lordship,  and  tive  hundred  pounds 
for  the  lieutenant  governor,  his  kinsman.  Besides 
which  the  revenue  was  continued  for  six  years 
longer.  A  necessary  law  was  also  made  for  the 
regulation  of  elections,  containing  the  substance  of 
the  English  statutes  of  8  Hen.  VI.  Chap.  VII.  and 
the  7  and  8  Will.  III. 

This  assembly  took  also  into  consideration  sundry 
extravagant  grants  of  land  which  colonel  Fletcher 
had  made  to  several  of  his  favourites.  Among  these, 
two  grants  to  Dellius,  the  Dutch  minister,  and  one 
to  Nicholas  Bayard,  were  the  most  considerable. 
Dellius  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for  Indian 
affairs,  and  had  fraudulently  obtained  the  Indian 
deeds,  according  to  which  the  patents  had  been 
granted.  One  of  the  grants  included  all  the  lands 
within  twelve  miles  on  the  east  side  of  Hudson's 
river,  and  extended  twtmty  miles  in  length  from  the 
north  bounds  of  Saratoga.  The  second  patent, 
which  was  granted  to  him  in  company  with  Pin- 
home,  Bancker,  and  others,  contained  all  the  lands 
within  two  miles  on  each  side  of  the  Mohawks'  river, 
and  along  its  banks  to  the  extent  of  fifty  mUes.  Bay- 
ard's grant  was  alc^o  for  land  in  chat  country,  and  very 
extravagant.  Lord  Bellomont,  who  justly  thought 
these  great  patents,  with  the  trifling  annual  reserva- 
tion of  a  few  skins,  would  impede  the  settlement  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  alienate  the  affections  of  our  Indian 


J:  I 


|1 


I 


156 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


allies,  wisely  prociiref^  •'econnmendatory  instructions 
from  the  lordei  |u8li(%>  fir  varnlin^  those  patents, 
which  was  now  regiilnrly  accompliHhffd  by  a  law, 
and  Delliiis  was  HU»pended  from  his  ministerial 
fiincfions  '       i  •', 

T'le  prul  Iii«v>n^  curried  all  his  points  at  New- 
York,  set  out  for  Huston  in  Juno,  whence,  nfler  he 
hHd  seriiod  his  salary,  nnd  apprehended  the  pirate 
Kid,  irertviirned  here  again  in  the  faM. 

The  rnvoiiue  being  settled  for  six  years,  bis  lord- 
ship had  no  occasion  to  meet  the  assembly  till  the 
summer  of  I  he  year  1700;  and  then  indeed  little 
else  was  done  than  to  pass  a  few  laws.  One  for 
hanging  every  popiish  priest  that  came  voluntarily 
into  the  province,  which  was  occti^ioned  by  the  great 
number  of  French  Je&iuits,  who  were  continually 
practising  upon  oui*  Indians.  By  another  provision 
was  made  for  erecting  a  fort  in  the  country  of  the 
Onondagas,  but  as  this  was  repealed  a  few  months 
after  the  king's  providing  for  that  purpose,  so  the 
former  continues,  as  it  for  ever  ought,  in  full  force 
to  this  day. 

The  earl  was  a  man  of  art  and  polite  manners, 
and  being  a  mortal  enemy  to  the  French,  as  well  as 
a  lover  of  liberty,  he  would  doubtless  have  been  of 
considerable  service  to  the  colony ;  but  he  died  here 
oa  the  5th  of  March,  1701,  when  he  was  but  just 
become  acquainted  with  the  colony.      ' 

The  earl  of  Bellomoni's  death  was  the  source  of 
new  troubles,  for  Nanfan,  the  lieutenant  governor, 
being  then  absent  in  Barbadoes,  high  disputes  arose 
among  the  counsellors,  concerning  the  exercise  of 
the  powers  of  government.    Abraham  De  Peyster, 


\^ 


IIIHTORY  OF  ^ew-YOKk. 


157 


Hamuel  Stnnts,  Rohnrt  Walters,  and  Tliomns  Wea- 
ver, who  Hided  w'nh  ilio  puny  that  mlliered  .  o  i  .tinier, 
insisted  that  ilio  ^overiinieiit  wtisdevolvv  i  'ip  >n  the 
council,  who  hnd  a  right  lo  hci  by  a  iiinji>rity  of 
voices;  but  colonel  Hmith  contended  liint  all  the 
powers  of  the  hue  governor  were  devolved  upon 
him  as  president,  he  being  the  eldest  member  of 
that  board.  Colonel  Bchuyler  and  Robert  Living- 
ston, who  did  not  arrive  in  town  till  the  21st  of 
March,  joined  Mr.  Hmith,  and  refused  to  appear  at 
the  council  board  till  near  the  middle  of  April.  The 
assembly,  wliich  was  convened  on  the  2d  of  that 
month,  were  in  equal  perplexity,  for  they  adjourned 
from  day  to  dny,  waiting  the  issue  of  this  rupture. 
Both  parlies  continuing  inflexible,  those  nie'nbcrs 
who  opposed  colonel  Bmith  sent  down  to  the  house 
a  representation  of  the  controversy,  assigning  a 
number  of  reasons  for  the  silting  of  the  assembly, 
which  the  house  took  into  thoir  considcauion,  and 
on  the  16th  of  April  resolved,  ilint  the  execution 
of  the  earl's  commission  and  instructions,  in  the 
absence  of  the  lieutenant  governor,  wus  the  right 
of  the  council  by  majority  of  voices,  and  not  of  any 
single  member  of  that  board  ;  and  this  was  after- 
wards the  opinion  of  the  lords  of  trade.  Tlie  dis- 
putes, nevertheless,  continuing  in  the  council  strenu- 
ously supported  by  Mr.  Livingston,  the  house,  on 
the  19th  of  April,  thought  proper  to  adjourn  them- 
selves to  the  first  Tuesday  in  June. 

In  this  interval,  on  the  19th  of  May,  John  Nanfan, 
the  lieutenant  governor,  arrived,  and  settled  the 
controversy  by  taking  upon  himself  the  supreme 
command. 


y  ■■ 


/) 


I   ," 


I  I 


^Hfl 


/^~ 


158 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


M 


Upon  Mr.  Nanfan's  arrival,  we  had  the  agreeable 
news  ftiat  the  king  had  given  two  thousand  pounds 
sterling  for  the  defence  of  Albany  and  Schenectady, 
as  well  as  five  hundred  pounds  more  for  erecting  a 
fort  in  the  country  of  the  Onondagas.  And  not 
long  after  an  ordinance  was  issued,  agreeable  to 
the  special  direction  of  the  lords  of  trade,  for  erect- 
ing a  court  of  chancery,  to  sit  the  first  Thursday  in 
every  month.  By  this  ordinance  the  powers  of  the 
chancellor  were  vested  in  the  governor  and  council, 
or  any  two  of  that  board :  commissions  were  also 
gr'j.nted,  appointing  masters,  clerks,  and  a  register ; 
so  that  this  court  was  completely  organized  on  the 
2d  of  September,  1701. 

Atwood,  who  was  then  chief  justice  of  the  supreme 
court,  v,as  now  sworn  of  the  council.  Abraham  De- 
peyster  and  Robert  Walters  v  ere  his  assistants  on 
the  bench ;  and  the  former  was  also  made  deputy 
auditor-general  under  Mr.  Blaithwait.  Sampson 
Sheltou  Broughton  was  the  attorney-general,  and 
came  into  that  office  when  Atwood  took  his  seat  on 
the  bench,  before  the  decease  of  lord  Bellomont. 
Both  these  had  their  commissions  from  England. 
The  lieutenant  governor  and  the  major  part  of  the 
board  of  council,  together  with  the  several  officers 
above  named,  being  strongly  in  the  interest  of  the 
Leislerian  party,  it  was  not  a  little  surprising  that 
Mr.  Nanfan  dissolved  the  late  assembly  on  the  1st  of 
June  last.  ^  ,..<         j  . 

Great  were  the  struggles  at  the  ensuing  elections, 
which  however  generally  prevailed  in  favour  of  those 
who  joined  Leisler  at  the  revolution ;  and  hence,  when 
the  new  assembly  met  on  the  19th  of  August,  1701, 


.  -"-^r-titttitm 


.^Jil^.;!^ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


159 


Abraham  Governeur  was  elected  for  their  speaker. 
Dutchess*  was  thought  heretofore  incapable  of  bear- 
i^^g  the  charge  of  a  representation ;  but  the  people 
of  that  county,  now  animated  by  the  heat  of  the 
times,  sent  Jacob  Rutsen  and  Adrian  Garretson  to 
represent  them  in  assembly.  ->r/ v=^ 

Mr.  Nanfan,  in  his  speech  to  the  house,  infornis 
them  of  the  memorable  grant  made  to  the  crown, 
on  the  1 9th  of  July,  by  the  Five  Nations,  of  a  vast 
tract  of  land,  to  prevent  the  necessity  of  their  sub- 
mitting to  the  French  in  case  of  a  war ;  that  his 
majesty  had  given  out  of  his  exchequer  two  thousand 
five  hundred  pounds  sterling  for  forts,  and  eight 
hundred  pounds  to  be  laid  out  in  presents  to  the 
Indians ;  and  that  he  had  also  settled  a  salary  of 
three  hundred  pounds  on  a  chief  justice,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  on  the  attorney-general, 
who  were  both  now  arrived  here. 

The  fire  of  contention  which  had  lately  appeared 
in  the  tumultuous  elections  biazed  out  afresh  in  the 
house.  NicoU,  the  late  counsellor,  got  himself  elected 
for  Sufiblk,  and  was  in  hopes  of  being  seated  in  the 
chair ;  but  Abraham  Governeur  was  chosen  speaker. 
Several  members  contended  that  he,  being  an  alien, 
was  unqualified  for  that  station.  To  this  it  was 
answered,  that  he  was  in  the  province  in  the  year 
1683,  at  the  time  of  passing  an  act  to  naturalize  all 
the  free  inhabitants  professing  the  christian  religion ; 
and  that  for  this  reason  the  same  objection  against 
him  had  been  overruled  at  the  last  assembly.  In 
return  for  this  attack,  Governeur  disputed  Nicoll's 


l'\ 


I  I, 


■^  That  county,  now  so  numerous  and  opulent,  was  assessed  in  the  year  1702 
below  any  otiier,  contributing  but  £18  to  a  general  tax  of  jCSOOO. 


i 


:r 


160 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


right  for  sitting  as  a  member  of  that  house ;  and 
succeeded  in  a  rest»lve  that  he  and  Mr.  Wessels, 
who  had  been  returned  for  Albany,  were  both  un- 
quaUfied  according  to  the  late  act.  they  being  neither 
of  thpm  residents  in  the  respective  counties  for  which 
they  we:  j  chosen.  This  occrisioned  an  imprudent 
secession  of  seven  members,  who  had  joined  the 
interest  of  Mr.  Nicoll,  which  gave  their  adversaries 
an  opportunity  to  expel  them  and  introduce  others 
in  their  stead. 

Among  the  first  opposers  of  captain  Leisler  none 
was  more  considerable  than  Mr.  I  iv'iigston.  The 
measures  of  the  convention  at  Albany  were  very 
much  d'rected  by  his  advice,  and  he  was  peculiarly 
obnoxious  to  his  adversaries  because  he  was  a  man 
of  sense  and  resolution,  two  qualifications  rarely  to 
be  found  united  in  one  person  at  that  day.  Mr. 
Livingston's  intimacy  with  the  late  earl  had  till  this 
time  been  his  defence  against  the  rage  of  the  party 
which  he  had  formerly  opposed  ;  but  as  that  lord  was 
now  dead,  and  Mr.  Livingston's  conduct  in  council, 
in  favour  of  colonel  Smiili,  had  given  fresh  provoca- 
tion to  his  enemies,  they  were  fully  bent  upon  his 
destruction.  It  was  in  execution  of  this  scheme,  that 
as  soon  as  the  disputed  elections  were  over,  the 
house  proceeded  to  examine  the  state  of  the  public 
accounts,  which  they  partly  began  at  the  late 
assembly. 

The  pretence  was,  that  he  refused  to  account  for 
the  public  moneys  he  had  formerly  received  out  of 
the  excise  ;  upon  which  a  committee  of  both  houses 
advised  the  passing  a  bill  to  confiscate  his  estate, 
unless  he  agreed  to  account  by  a  certain  day.     But 


, 


h  'Ik:: 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


161 


instead  of  this,  an  act  was  afterwards  passed  to 
oblige  him  to  account  for  a  sum  amounting  to  near 
eighteen  thousand  pounds  While  this  matter  was 
transacting,  a  new  complaint  was  forged,  and  he 
was  summoned  before  another  committee  of  both 
houses,  relating  to  his  procuring  the  Five  Nations 
to  signify  their  desire  that  he  should  be  sent  home 
to  solicit  their  affairs.  The  criminality  of  this  charge 
can  be  seen  only  through  the  partial  opjtics  with 
which  his  enemies  then  scanned  his  behaviour :  be- 
sides there  was  no  evidence  to  support  it,  and  there- 
fore the  committee  retpiired  him  to  purge  himself 
by  his  own  oath.  Mr.  Livingston,  who  was  better 
acquainted  with  En<;lish  law  and  liberty  than  to 
countenance  a  practice  so  odious,  rejected  the  inso- 
lent demand  with  disdain  ;  upon  which  the  house,  by 
advice  of  the  committee,  addressed  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  to  pray  his  majesty  to  remove  him  from 
his  office  of  secretary  of  Indian  affairs,  and  that  the 
governor  in  the  mean  time  would. suspend  him  from 
the  exercise  of  his  commission.* 

It  was  at  this  favourable  conjuncture  that  Jacob 
Leisler's  petition  to  the  king,  and  his  majesty's  letter 
to  the  late  earl  of  Bellomont,  were  laid  before  the 
aosembly.  Leisler  displeased  with  the  report  of 
the  lords  of  trade,  that  his  father  and  his  brother 
Milbori.e  had  suffered  according  to  law,  laid  his  case 
before  the  parliament,  and  obtained  an  act  to  reverse 
the  attainder.!     After  which  he  applied  to  the  king, 

*  Mr.  Livingston's  reason  for  not  accounting  was  truly  unanswerable;  liis 
books  anc"  vounliers  were  taken  into  the  hands  ot'tliegorernment,  and  detaim.'d 
from  him. 
.    I  See  Note  K. 

VOL.  I. — 21 


^1! 

■A 


n 


■Tmt^ 


162 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


^      i 


complaining  that  his  father  had  disbursed  about 
four  thousand  pounds,  in  purchasing  arms  and  f^jr- 
warding  the  revolution ;  in  consequence  of  which 
he  procured  the  following  letter  to  lord  Beliumont, 
dated  at  Whitehall,  the  6th  of  February,  |f||.  i  -. 

"  My  Lord, 
"  The  king  being  moved  upon  the  petition  of  Mr. 
Jacob  Leisler,  and  having  a  gracious  sense  of  his 
father's  services  and  sufferings,  and  thr  ill  circum- 
stances the  petitioner  is  thereby  reduced  to,  his 
majesty  is  p'eased  to  direct,  that  the  same  be  trans- 
mitted to  your  lordship,  and  that  you  recommend 
his  case  to  ^he  general  assembly  of  New- York,  being 
the  only  piace  where  he  can  be  relieved,  and  the 
prayer  of  his  petition  complied  with. 
"  I  am,  my  lord,  your  lordship's 

"  Most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"JERSEY." 

As  soon  as  this  letter  and  the  petition  were 
brought  into  the  house,  a  thousand  pounds  were 
ordered  to  be  levied  for  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Leisler, 
as  well  as  several  sums  for  other  persons,  by  a  bill 
for  paying  the  debts  of  the  government,  which  never- 
theless did  not  pass  into  a  law  till  the  ui^xt  session. 
Every  thing  that  waa  done  at  this  meeting  of  the 
assembly,  which  continued  till  the  18th  of  October, 
was  under  the  influence  of  a  party  spirit ;  and 
nothing  can  be  a  fuller  evidence  of  it,  than  an  incor- 
rect, impertinent  address  to  his  majesty,  which  was 
drawn  up  by  the  house  at  the  close  of  the  session, 
and  signed  by  fourteen  of  the  members.     It  contains" 


A 


HISTORY   OF   ]>:BW-Y0RK. 


163 


\ 


a  tedious  narrative  of  their  proceedings  relating  to 
the  disputed  elections,  and  conchides  with  a  little 
incense,  co  regale  some  of  the  then  principal  agents 
in  the  public  affairs,  in  these  words  : 

"This  necessary  account  of  ourselves  and  our 
unhappy  divisions,  which  we  hope  the  moderation  of 
our  lieutenant-governor,  the  wisdom  and  prudence 
of  William  Atwood,  esq.  our  chief  justice,  and  Tho- 
mas Weaver,  esq.  your  majesty's  collector  and 
receiver-general,  might  have  healed,  we  lay  before 
your  majesty  with  all  humility,  and  a  deep  sense  of 
your  majesty's  goodness  to  us,  lately  expressed  jn 
sending  over  so  excellent  a  person  to  be  our  chief 
justice." 

The  news  of  the  king's  having  appointed  lord 
Cornbury  to  succeed  the  earl  of  Bellomont,  so 
strongly  animated  the  hopes  of  the  Anti-Leislerian 
party,  that  about  the  commencement  of  the  year 
1702,  Nicholas  Bayard  promoted  several  addresses 
to  the  king,  the  parliament,  and  lord  Cornbury,  which 
were  subscribed  at  a  tavern  kept  by  one  Hutchins,  an 
alderman  of  the  city  of  New- York.  In  that  to  his 
majesty,  they  assure  him  **  that  the  late  differences 
were  not  grounded  on  a  regard  to  his  interest,  but 
the  corrupt  designs  of  those  who  laid  hold  on  an 
opportunity  to  enrich  themselves  by  the  spoils  of  their 
neighbours."  The  petition  to  the  parliament  says 
that  Leisler  and  his  adherents  gained  the  fort  at  the 
revolution  without  any  opposition  ;  that  he  oppressed 
and  imprisoned  the  people  without  cause,  plundered 
them  of  their  goods  and  compelled  them  to  flee  their 
country,  though  they  were  well  affected  to  the  prince 
of  Orange.    That  the  earl  of  Bellomont  appointed 


:'  n 


'i| 


■k-^MkiMa^  '^"V" 


■■^~Z^' 


164 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


indigent  sheriffs,  who  returned  such  members  to  the 
assembly  as  were  unduly  elected,  and  in  his  lord- 
ship's esteem.  That  he  suspended  many  from  the 
board  of  council,  who  v  ere  faithful  servants  of  the 
crown,  introducing  his  own  tools  in  their  stead.  Nay 
they  denied  the  authority  of  the  late  assembly,  and 
added  that  the  house  had  bribed  both  the  lieutenant- 
governor  and  the  chief  justice  ;  the  one  to  pass  their 
bills,  and  the  other  to  defend  the  legality  of  their 
proceedings.  A  third  address  was  prepared  to  be 
presented  to  lord  Corn  bury,  to  congratulate  his 
artival,  as  wc^li  to  prepossess  him  in  their  favour  as 
to  prejudice  him  ngainst  the  opposite  party. 

Nothing  could  havo  a  more  natural  tendency  to 
excite  the  wrath  of  the  lieutenant-governor  and  the 
revenge  of  the  council  and  assembly,  than  the  reflec- 
tions contained  in  those  several  addresses.  Nanfan 
had  no  sooner  received  intelligence  of  them  than  he 
summoned  Hutchins  to  deliver  them  up  to  him,  and 
upon  his  refusal  comtnitted  him  to  jail  on  the  19th  of 
January ;  the  next  day  Nicholas  Bayard,  Rip  Van 
Dam,  Philip  French,  and  Thomas  VVenham,  hot  with 
party  zeal,  sent  an  imprudent  address  to  the  lieu- 
tenant-governor, boldly  justifying  the  legality  of  the 
address,  and  demanding  his  discharge  out  of  custody. 
I  have  before  taken  notice  that  upon  Sloughter's 
arrival  in  1691,  an  act  was  passed  to  recognize  the 
right  of  king  William  and  queen  Mary  to  the  sove- 
reignty of  this  province.  At  the  end  of  that  law,  a 
clause  was  added  in  these  words :  "  That  whatsoever 
person  or  persons  shall  by  any  manner  of  ways,  or 
upon  any  pretence  whatsoever,  endeavour  by  force  of 
arras  or  otherwise  to  disturb  the  peace,  good,  and 


1 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


165 


quiet  of  their  majesties*  government  as  it  is  now 
established,  shall  be  deemed  and  esteemed  as  rebels 
and  traitors  unto  their  tnajesties,  and  incur  the  pains, 
penalties,  and  forfeitures  as  the  laws  of  England 
have  for  such  offences  made  and  provided."  Under 
pretext  of  this  law,  which  Bayard  himself  had  been 
personally  concerned  in  enacting,  Mr  Nanfan  issued 
a  warrant  for  committing  him  to  jail  as  a  traitor,  on 
the  21st  of  January,  and  lest  the  mob  should  inter- 
pose, a  company  of  soldiers  for  a  week  after  con- 
stantly guarded  the  prison. 

Through  the  uncertainty  of  the  time  of  lord  Com- 
bury's  arrival,  Mr.  Nanfun  chose  to  bring  the  prisoner 
to  his  trial  as  soon  as  possible,  and  for  that  purpose 
issued  a  commission  of  oyer  and  terminer  on  the  12th 
of  February,  to  William  Atwood,  the  chief  justice, 
and  Abraham  Depeyster  and  Robert  Walters,  who 
were  the  puisne  judges  of  the  supreme  court ;  and 
not  long  after  Bayard  was  arraigned,  indicted,  tried, 
and  convicted  of  high  treason.  Several  reasons 
were  afterwards  offered  in  arrest  of  judgment,  but 
as  the  prisoner  was  unfortunately  in  the  hands  of  an 
enraged  party,  Atwood  overruled  what  was  offered, 
and  condemned  him  to  death  on  the  16th  of  March. 
As  the  process  of  his  trial  has  been  long  since  printed 
in  the  state  trials  at  large,  I  leave  the  reader  to  his 
own  remarks  upon  the  conduct  of  the  judges,  who 
are  generally  accused  of  partiality. 

Atwood,  the  chief  justice,  stimulated  these  prose- 
cutions. Lord  Cornbury's  speech  of  13th  April, 
1704,  proves  this : 

"  I  must  acquaint  you,  gentlemen,  that  her  most 
sacred  majesty,  the  queen,  who  is  always  watchful 


166 


HISTORY   OP   NEW- YORK. 


f       < 


)        i 


I 


for  the  good  of  her  subjects,  and  considering  the 
danger  that  some  of  her  subjects  of  this  colony  were 
exposed  to,  by  the  wicked  construction  put  by  the 
then  chie.' justice  upon  an  act  of  assembly  passed  in 
1691,  intitled  "An  act  &c."  has  been  pleased  to  com- 
mand me,  and  to  recommend  to  you  the  repealing 
the  last  clause  in  the  said  act,  her  majesty  being 
satisfied  that  no  law.s  now  in  force  in  England  are 
sufficient  to  punish  any  person  who  shall  offend  in 
that  manner  in  these  parts.  The  assembly  express 
the  highest  gratitude,  impute  the  queen's  order  to 
the  misrepresentations  '>f  the  governor,  and  rejoice 
that  her  goodness  will  put  it  "out  of  the  power  of 
vile,  crafty,  designing  men,  to  vent  their  own  wicked 
passions  under  the  specious  colours  of  law  and 
justice." 

Bayard  applied  to  Mr.  Nanfan  for  a  reprieve  till 
his  majesty *8  pleasure  might  be  known,  and  obtained 
it,  not  without  great  difficulty,  nor  till  after  a  seeming 
confession  of  guilt  was  extorted.  Hutchins,  who 
was  also  convicted,  was  bailed  upon  the  payment  of 
forty  pieces  of  Eight  to  the  sheiiff ;  but  Bayard,  who 
refused  to  procure  him  the  gift  of  a  farm  of  about 
fifteen  hundred  pounds  value,  was  not  released  from 
his  confinement  till  after  the  arrival  of  lord  Cornbury, 
who  not  only  gave  his  consent  to  an  act  for  reversing 
the  late  attainders,  but  procured  the  queen's  confir- 
mation of  it,  upon  their  giving  aecurity  according  to 
the  advice  of  Sir  Edward  xNorthey,  not  to  bring  any 
suits  against  those  who  were  concerned  in  their  pro- 
secution; which  the  attorney-general  thought  proper, 
as  the  act  ordained  all  the  proceedings  to  be  oblite- 
rated.    Prior  to  the  passing  of  that  act  Mr.  Bayard 


jgJ-H     n     I  IIWI|ij>>i|l1 


HISTORY   OF   ]\EW-'.OKK. 


167 


preferred  what  he  entitled  his  petition  and  appeal  to 
queen  Anne  ;   in  which  he  alleges  that  the  indict- 
ment against  him  was  found  but  by  eleven  jurors, 
''everal  of  whom  wero  alions.     That  the  addresses 
charged  to  be  treasonable  were  not  read  at  the  trial ; 
that  the  petty  jury  were  aliens  unduly  returned  and 
ignorant  of  the  English  language  ;  this  request  is  for 
a  day  to  be  heard,  and  that  copies  of  records  and 
minutes,  and  depositions  attested  by  lord  Cornbury, 
may  be  received  as  evidences  at  the  hearing ;  that 
the  attorney-general  may  be  ordered  to  attend  with 
Atwood  and  Weaver,  who  are  both  fled  to  London. 
It  is  some  confirmation  of  the  petitioner's  alle- 
gations, that  the  minutes  of  the  privy  council  of 
22d  January,  1 702,  recites  that  the  queen  had  that 
day  heard  counsel  fcr  the  petitioner  and  alderman 
Hutchins  ;  and  Atwood,  the  chief  justice,  and  Wea- 
ver, the  solicitor-general,  by  themselves  and  th^ir 
counsels ;  and  that  her  majesty  having  considered 
this  matter,  vms  sensible  of  the  undue  and  illegal 
prosecutions  against  the  said  Bayard  and  Hutchins ; 
and  lord  Cornbury  was  ordered  to  direct  the  attor- 
ney-general of  the  province  "  to  consent  to  the  re- 
ve^'sal  of  the  sentences  against  them  and  all  issues 
an  *  proceedings  thereupon,  and  to  do  whatever  else 
may  be  requisite  in  the  laws,  for  reinstating  the  said 
Bayard  and  Hutchins  in  their  honour  and  property, 
as  if  no  such  prosecution  or  trial  had  been."  This  is 
taken  from  the  order  under  seal  of  the  council  sign- 
ed Edward  Southwell ;  and  in  the  minutes  of  the 
supreme  court  for  October  term,  1703,  there  is  an 
entry  in  the  followin^^  words,  though  it  is  not  known 
bow  the  records  of  the  court  of  over  and  terminer 


V 


1 

1 


16B 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


ri    '' 


/ 


t\) 


got  there :  "Dom.  Regina  vs.  Col  Nicholas  Bayard, 
Jamison,  for  defendant,  movc8  \.o  havo  judgment 
reversed  that  was  given  agninttt  the  deiendant  for 
high  treason,  upon  several  errors  brought  by  the 
direction  of  the  oi«'  en  in  council ;  which  errors  being 
read  and  allowed  by  the  court,  and  consented  to  by 
the  attorney-general,  it  is  ordered  that  judgment  bo 
reversed  accordingly,  and  that  the  defendant  Bp.yard 
be  restored." 

After  Bayard's  trial,  Nanfan  erected  n  court  of 
exchequer,  and  again  convened  the  assembly,  who 
thanked  him  for  his  lute  measures,  and  passed  an 
act  to  outlaw  Philip  French  and  Thomas  Wenham, 
who  absconded  upon  Bayard's  commitment;  another 
to  augment  the  number  of  representatives ;  and 
several  others,  which  were  all  but  one  afterwards 
repealed  by  queen  Anne.  During  this  session,  lord 
Cornbury  being  daily  expected,  the  lieutenant- 
governor  suspended  Mr.  Livingston  from  his  seat  in 
council,  and  thus  continued  to  abet  Leisler's  party 
to  the  end  of  his  administration. 

Lord  Cornbury's  arrival  quite  opened  a  new  scene. 
His  father,  the  earl  of  Clarendon,  adhered  to  the 
cause  of  the  late  abdicated  king,  and  always  refused 
the  oaths  both  to  king  Willinm  and  queen  Anne; 
but  the  son  recommended  himself  at  the  revolution 
by  appearing  very  early  for  the  prince  of  Orange, 
being  one  of  the  first  officers  that  deserted  king 
James's  army.  King  VV  illiam  in  gratitude  for  his 
services  gave  him  a  commission  for  this  government, 
which,  upon  the  death  of  the  king,  was  renewed  by 
queen  Anne,  who  atjthe  same  time  appointed  him 
to  the  chief  command  of  New-Jersey,  the  govern- 


4 


■.v''»  ■-^■... 


."-tvss 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YOBK. 


169 


At^ 


ment  of  which  the  proprietors  had  lately  surrendered 
into  her  hniida.  As  lord  Cornbury  came  to  this 
province  in  very  indigent  circumstances,  hunted 
out  of  Kngland  by  a  host  of  hungry  creditors,  he 
was  bent  upon  getting  as  ruiich  money  as  he  could 
s^queezc  ou^  of  the  purses  of  an  impoverished  people. 
His  ^aleni.-)  were  perhaps  not  superior  to  the  most 
incon.^  lerable  of  his  predecessors  ;  but  in  his  zeal 
(n-  ♦he  cl  rch  he  was  surpassed  by  none.  With 
ght  qualifications  he  began  his  ad*!;}>/  'I'a- 
uje  '  <l  of  May,  1702,  assisted  by  ..  viULjil 
^^  of  the  following  members: — William 
William  Smith,  Peter  Schuyler,  Abraham 
Depeyster,  Samuel  Staats,  Robert  Walters,  Thomas 
Weaver,  Sampson  Sholton  Broughlon,  Wolfgang 
William  Romar,  William  Lawrence,  Gerardus 
Beekman,  Rip  Van  Dam. 

His  lordship,  without  the  least  disguise,  espousing 
the  anti-Leislerian  faction,  Atwood,  the  chief  jus- 
tice,*  and  Weaver,  who  acted  in  quality  of  solicitor- 
general,  thought  proper  to  retire  from  his  frowns  to 
Virginia,  whence  they  sailed  to  England:  the  former 
concealing  himself  under  the  name  of  Jones,  while 
the  latter  called  himself  Jackson.  Colonel  Heathcote 
and  doctor  Bridges  succeeded  in  their  places  at  the 
council  board. 

The  following  summer  was  remarkable  for  the 
uncommon  mortality  which  prevailed  in  the  city  of 
New- York,  and  makes  a  grand  epoch  among  our 


*"  He  was  at  th«  game  time  Judge  of  the  Vice  Admiralty,  and  published  his 
case  in  England,  of  which  the  assembly,  in  May,  1703,  assert  that  it  contained 
scandalous,  malicious,  notorious  untruths,  and  unjust  reflections  on  persons  then 
in  the  administration  of  the  prorince. 

vol,.  I. — 22 


'■    A-.^ii^.i^i^^L.^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Hi  m    III  2.2 


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V 


Photographic 

Sdences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  U580 

(716)  872-4503 


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.   ,.-     -,.;,..  „lA 

170 


dtSTOIlT  OP  NKW-YORK. 


f-^-./' 


-'f      /I 


I'' 


inhabitants,  distinguished  by  the  "time  of  the  great 
sickness."*  On  this  ocoasion  lord  Combury  had 
bis  residence  and  court  at  Jamaica,  a  pleasant 
village  on  Long-Island,  distant  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  city. 

The  inhabitants  of  Jamaica  consisted,  at  thi^t 
time,  partly  of  original  Dutch  planters,  but  mostly 
of  New-England  emigrants,  encouraged  to  settle 
there,  after  the  surrender,  by  the  duke  of  York's 
conditionsforplantations,  one  of  which  ^as  in  these 
Dvords :  "  that  every  township  should  be  obliged  to 
pay  their  own  ministers,  according  to  such  agree- 
ments as  they  should  make  with  him :  the  minister 
being  elected  by  the  major  part  of  the  householders 
and  inhabitants  of  the  town."  These  people  had 
erected  an  edifice  for  the  worship  of  God,  and 
enjoyed  a  handsome  donation  of  a  parsonage  house 
and  glebe,  for  the  use  of  their  minister.  After  the 
ministry  act  was  passed  by  colonel  Fletcher,  in  169tf, 
a  few  episcopdians  crept  into  the  town,  and  viewed 
the  presbyterian  church  with  a  jealous  eye.  The 
town  vote,  in  virtue  of  which  the  building  had  been 
erected,  contained  no  clause  to  prevent  its  being 
hereafter  engrossed  by  any  other  sect.  The  episco- 
pal party  who  knew  this,  formed  a  design  of  seizing 
the  edifice  for  themselves,  which  they  shortly  after 
carried  into  execution,  by  entering  the  church 
between  the  morning  and  evening  service,  while  the 
presbyterian  minister  and  his  congregation  were  in 
perfect  security,  unsuspicious  of  the  zeal  of  their 


*  The  fever  killed  almoat  oTeiy  patient  seised  with  it,  and  waa  brought  hem 
in  a  Tetnel  from  St.  Thomas,  in  the  Weat  Indies,  an  island  renuurkaUe  for  conta- 
gions dUeases. 


^fti<'*»i*w  .^r«¥*^i  „ 


HIg«TORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


171 


adversaries,  and  a  fraudulent  ejectment  on  a  day 
consecrated  to  sacred  rest. 

Great  outrage  ensued  among  the  people,  for  the 
contention  being  pro  Arts  et  JFhcis^  was  animating 
and  important.  The  original  proprietors  of  the 
house  tore  up  their  seats,  and  afterwards  got  the  key 
and  the  possession  of  the  church,  which  were  shortly 
after  again  taken  from  them  by  force  and  violence. 
In  these  controversies  the  governor  abetted  the 
episcopal  zealots,  and  harassed  the  others  by  num- 
berless prosecutions,  heavy  fines,  and  long  imprison- 
ments; through  fear  of  which  many  who  had  been 
active  in  the  dispute  fled  out  of  the  province.  Lord 
Combury's  noble  descent  and  education  should  have 
prevented  him  from  taking  part  in  so  ignominious 
a  quarrel ;  but  his  lordship's  sense  of  honour  and 
justice  was  as  weak  and  indelicate  as  his  bigotry 
was  rampant  and  incontrollable ;  and  hence  we  find 
him  guilty  of  an  act  complicated  of  a  number  of 
vices,  which  no  man  could  have  perpetratetl  without 
violence  to  the  very  slightest  remains  of  generosity 
and  justice.  When  his  excellency  retired  to  Jamaica, 
one  Hubbard,  the  presbyterian  minister,  lived  in  the 
best  house  in  the  town.  His  lordship  begged  the 
loan  of  it  for  the  use  of  his  own  family,  and  the 
clergyman  put  himself  to  no  small  inconvenience 
to  favour  the  governor's  request ;  but  in  return  for 
the  generous  benefaction,  his  lordship  perfidiously 
delivered  the  parsonage-house  into  the  hands  of  the 
episcopal  party,  and  encouraged  one  Cardwel,  the 
sheriff,  a  mean  fellow,  who  afterward  put  an  end 
to  his  own  life,  to  seize  upon  the  glebe,  which  he 
surveyed  into  lots,  and  farmed  for  the  benefit  of  the 


( |rv»*»«W'*~rSjr»ls^Sli*:.'>,'Si,''- 


\* 


172 


HI8TOBY   OF  N£W-TORK> 


episcopal  church.  These  tyrannical  measures  justly 
inflamed  the  indignation  of  the  injured  sufferers,  and 
that  again  the  more  imbittered  his  lordship  against 
them.  They  resented,  and  he  prosecuted  ;  nor  did 
he  confine  his  pious  rage  to  the  people  of  Jamaica : 
he  detested  all  who  were  of  the  same  denomination  ; 
nay,  averse  to  every  sect  except  his  own,  he  in- 
sisted that  neither  the  ministers  nor  schoolmasters 
of  the  Dutch,  the  most  numerous  persuasion  in  the 
province,  had  a  right  to  preach  or  instruct  without 
his  gubernatorial  license  ;  and  some  of  them  tamely 
submitted  to  his  unauthoritative  rule.* 

The  royal  instructions  required  the  governors  of 
the  plantations  to  give  all  countenance  and  encou- 
ragement to  the  exercise  of  the  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction of  the  bishop  of  London,  as  far  as  conve- 
niently, might  be  in  their  respective  provinces,  and 
particularly  directed,  "  That  no  schoolmaster  be 
henceforward  permitted  to  come  from  this  kingdom, 
and  to  keep  school  in  that  our  said  province,  without 
the  license  of  the  said  lord  bishop  of  London,  and 
that  no  ether  person  now  there,  or  that  shall  come 
from  other  part^^,  shall  be  admitted  to  keep  school 


■¥«*.;■.  ,i■y."?!.'^^>J: 


>l'."^ 


5H.l.t> 


V  ,..,W-!fi:r 


*  It  had  been  made  h  queation  ra  king  V/illiam's  reign,  whether  the  keeping 
of  Khoob  wu  not  by  the  ancient  laws  of  England,  prior  to  the  reformation,  of 
eocletiaatical  cognizance.  It  was  thought  by  Mma  that  a  schoolmaater  might 
be  proMcated  in  the  eocleeiaatical  courta,  for  not  bringing  hie  scholars  to  church, 
Mconling  to  the  -79th  canon  in  1 303.  Treby,  chief  justice,  and  Powell,  justice, 
were  of  opinion,  that  being  a  layman  he  was  not  bound  by  the  canons. 

In  1700,  one  tarn  was  libeled  fbr  teaeliing  school  at  Exeter  without  the 
bishop's  license,  and  though  it  was  admitted  that  the  canons  did  not  bind  the 
laity,  yet  it  was  conceived  that  the  crown,  since  the  reformation,  had  authority 
to  Test  the  superintendeney  of  schools  in  the  ordinary,  but  a  distinction  was 
taken  between  grammar  schools  and  schools  for  inferior  instruction.  A  pro- 
hibition issued  as  to  the  teaching  of  all  aohoolj}  except  gromftwr  tdmlt. 

Vid.  I,  P.  Williams' Rep.  29-33.  '  ..,.=.:>,.,-' 


V"^^^ 


i».-~.y.. 


J 


BISTORT  OF  NEW-rORK. 


173 


in  your  province  without  your  license  first  obtained." 
There  is  reason  to  think  this  instruction  has  been 
oontinued  from  the  revolution  to  the  present  time,  to 
the  governors  of  all  the  royal  provinces.  *v^'  a-ff**^^ 

A  general  account  of  his  lordship's  singular  zeal 
is  preserved,  under  the  title  of  the  Watch  Tower,  in 
a  number  of  papers  published  in  the  New- York 
Weekly  Mercury  for  the  year  1755.  ^  .  ,  ^.i,,- 

While  his  excellency  was  exerting  his  bigotry 
during  the  summer  season  at  Jamaica,  the  elections 
were  carrying  on  with  great  heat  for  an  assembly, 
which  met  him  at  that  village  in  the  fall.  It  con- 
sisted principally  of  the  party  which  had  been  borne 
down  by  the  earl  of  Bellomont  and  his  kinsman  ; 
and  hence  we  find  Philip  F'rench,  who  had  lately 
been  outlawed,  was  returned  a  representative  for 
New- York,  and  William  NicoU  elected  into  tlie 
speaker's  chair.  ^''''  ■'■■  •■•■'^■•^'■<^'*^-:'^--  '-'-^  ■  ;.-:-^':;-vvf.»^>ii.- 

Several  extracts  from  his  lordship's  speech  are 
proper  to  be  laid  before  the  reader,  as  a  specimen  of 
his  temper  and  designs.  "  It  was  an  extreme  sur- 
prise to  me  (says  his  lordship)  to  find  this  province 
at  my  landing  at  New- York,  in  such  a  convulsion  as 
must  have  unavoidably  occasioned  its  ruin  if  it  had 
been  suffered  to  go  on  a  little  longer.  The  many 
complaints  that  were  brought  to  me  against  persons 
I  found  here  in  power,  sufficiently  proved  against 
them ;  and  the  miserable  accounts  I  had  of  the  con- 
dition of  our  frontiers,  made  me  think  it  convenient 
to  delay  my  meeting  you  in  general  assembly,  till  I 
could  inform  myself  in  some  measure  of  the  condi- 
tion of  this  province,  that  I  might  be  able  to  offer  to 
your  consideration  some  few  of  those  things  which 


j 


i  <i 


y 


;,,__    _i  t  .:»^  '  ^ 


) 


i 


1 


174 


HI8T(»ftT   OF  N£W-TORK. 


will  be  necessary  to  be  done  forthwith,  for  the  , 
defence  of  the  country."       >    ,  r 

He  then  recommends  the  fortifying  the  port  of 
New- York  and  the  frontiers ;  adding,  that  he  found 
the  soldiers  naked  and  unarmed;  after  which  he 
proposes  a  militia  bill,  the  erection  of  public  schools, 
and  an  examination  of  the  provincial  debts  and 
accounts  ;  and  not  only  promises  to  make  a  faithful 
application  of  the  moneys  to  be  raised,  but  that  he 
would  render  them  an  account.  The  whole  speech 
is  sweetened  with  this  gracious  conclusion :  '*  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  have  no  more  to  trouble  you  with,  but 
to  assure  you  in  the  name  of  the  great  queen  of 
England,  my  mistress,  that  you  may  safely  depend 
upon  all  the  protection  that  good  and  faithful  subjects 
can  desire  or  expect  from  a  sovereign  whose  greatest 
delight  is  the  welfare  of  her  people,  under  whose 
auspicious  reign  we  are  sure  to  enj*y  what  no  nation 
in  the  world  dares  claim  but  the  subjects  of  England; 
I  mean  the  free  enjoyment  of  the  best  religion  in 
the  world,  the  full  possession  of  all  lawful  liberty, 
and  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  our  freeholds 
and  properties.  These  are  some  of  the  many  benefits 
which  I  take  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  to  be 
well  entitled  to  by  the  laws  of  England ;  and  I  am 
glad  of  this  opportunity  to  assure  you,  that  as  long 
as  I  have  the  honour  to  serve  the  queen  in  the  grvern- 
ment  of  this  province,  those  laws  shall  be  put  in 
execution,  according  to  the  intent  with  which  they 
were  made ;  that  is,  for  the  preRervation  and  pro- 
tection of  the  people,  and  not  for  their  oppression. 
I  heartily  rejoice  to  see  that  the  free  choice  of  the 
people  has  fallen  upon  gentlemen  whose  constant 


. ««» .^^^-iasa-HP^^' 


■tiKiLllUII   (IWJIj   lo^,  — ,. 


f 


HISTORY    OF  NEW-TORK. 


175 


fidelity  to  the  crown  and  unwearied  application  to 
the  good  of  their  country  is  so  universally  known.** 

The  hoti«e  echoed  back  an  address  of  high  com- 
pliment to  his  lordship,  declaring,  **That  being 
deeply^  sensible  of  the  misery  and  calamity  the 
eouBtry  lay  under  at  his  arrival,  they  were  not  suffi- 
ciently aible  to  express  the  satisfaction  they  had  both 
ifk  their  relief  and  their  deliverer."  <'-..' 

"  Wed  pleased  with  a  governor  who  headed  their 
party,  the  assembly  granted  to  him  all  he  desired : 
eighteen  hundred  pounds  were  raised  for  the  sup- 
port of  one  hundred  and  eighty  men  to  defend  the 
frontiers,  besides  two  thousand  pounds  more  as  a 
present  towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  his  voy- 
age. The  queen,  by  her  letter  of  the  20th  of  April, 
in  the  next  year,  forbade  any  such  donations  for  the 
future.  It  is  observable  that  though  the  county  of 
Dutchess  had  no  representatives  at  this  assembly,  yet 
suck  was  then  the  known  indigence  of  that  now  popu- 
lous and  flourishing  county,  that  but  eighteen  pounds 
ware  apportioned  for  their  quota  of  these  levies. 

Besides  the  acts  above  mentioned,  the  house 
brought  up  a  militia  bill-,  continued  the  revenue  to 
the  1st  of  May,  1709,  and  passed  a  law  to  establish 
a  grammar  school  according  to  his  lordship's  recom- 
mendation. Besides  the  great  harmony  that  sub- 
sisted between  the  governor  and  his  assembly,  there 
was  nothing  remarkable  except  two  resolves  against 
the  court  of  chancery  erected  by  Mr.  Nanfan,  occa- 
sioned by  a  petition  of  several  disappointed  suitors 
who  were  displeased  with  a  decree.  The  resolu- 
tions were  in  these  words :  "  That  the  setting  up  a 


■ 


U 


It 


V 


-.~rfr:-M-^* 


^ 


176 


BISTORT  OF  NEW-TORK. 


court  of  equity  in  thin  colony,  without  consent  of 
the  general  assembly,  is  an  innovation  without  any 
former  precedent,  inconvenient  and  contrary  to  the 
English  law."  And  again:  "That  the  court  of 
chancery,  as  lately  erected  and  managed  here,  was 
and  is  unwarrantable,  a  great  oppression  to  the  sub- 
ject, of'  pernicious  example  a>.td  consequence ;  that 
all  proceedings,  orders,  and  decrees  in  the  same  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  declared  null  and  void ; 
and  that  a  bill  be  brought  in  according  to  these  two 
resolutions,"  which  was  done ;  but  though  his  lordship 
was  by  no  means  disinclined  to  fix  contempt  on 
Nanfan's  administration,  yet  as  this  bill  would  dimi- 
nish his  own  power,  himself  being  the  chancellor, 
the  matter  was  never  moved  farther  than  to  the 
order  for  the  engrossment  of  the  bill  upon  a  second 
reading*  '^  •■Vv;-'''*'--^*  •*•'•  ■■■■■'•-"'•'*• '"^  i-'y-  A^M«'«*fip- 
Though  a  war  was  proclaimed  by  England  on  the 
4th  of  May,  1702,  against  France  and  Spain,  yet  as 
the  Five  Nations  had  entered  into  a  treaty  of  neu- 
trality with  the  French  in  Canada,  this  province, 
instead  of  being  harassed  on  its  borders  by  the 
enemy,  carried  on  a  trade  very  advantageous  to  all 
those  who  were  concerned  in  it.  The  governor,  how- 
ever, continued  his  solicitations  for  money  with  unre- 
mitted importunity,  and  by  alarming  the  assembly, 
which  met  in  April,  1703,  with  his  expectation  of 
an  attack  by  sea,  fifteen  hundred  pounds  were  raised, 
under  pretence  of  erecting  two  batteries  at  the  Nar- 
rows; which,  instead  of  being  employed  for  that  use^ 
his  lordship,  notwithstanding  the  province  had  ex- 
pejaded  twenty-two  thousand  pounds  during  the  late 


HISTORY   OF   NBW-rORK. 


177 


peace,  was  pleased  to  appropriate  ii  his  private 
advantage.*  But  let  us  do  him  the  justice  to  con- 
fessi  that  while  he  was  robbing  the  public  he  at  the 
same  time  consented  to  several  other  laws  lor  the 
emolument  of  the  clergy. 

V- Whether  it  was  owing  to  the  extraordinary  sa- 
gacity of  the  house,  or  their  presumption  that  his 
lordship  was  as  little  to  be  trusted  as  any  of  his 
predecessors,  alter  voting  the  above  sum  for  the 
batteries,  they  added,  that  it  should  be  "  for  no  other 
use  whatsoever,"  I  leave  the  reader  to  determine. 
It  is  certain  they  now  begaq  to  see  the  danger  of 
throwing  the  public  money  into  the  hands  of  a  re- 
ceiver-general appointed  by  the  crown,  from  whence 
the  governor  by  his  warrants  might  draw  it  at  his 
pleasure.  To  this  cause  we  must  assign  it,  that  in 
an  address  to  his  lordship,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
1703,  they  "  desire  and  insist  that  some  proper  and 
su^cient  person  might  be  commifi>sioned  treasurer, 
for  the  receiving  and  paying  such  moneys  now 
intended  to  be  raised  for  the  public  use,  as  a  means 
to  obstruct  misapplications  for  the  future."  Another 
address  was  sent  home  to  the  queen,  complaining 
of  the  ill  state  of  the  revenue  through  the  frauds 
which  had  formerly  been  committed,  the  better  to 
facilitate  the  imports  *;:  design  of  having  a  treasurer 
dependent  on  the  assedbly.  The  success  of  these 
measures  will  appear  m  the  sequel.      . ,.  vj ..  ,^,;   .^^ 


"'■  -.■^  .?;- 


:^,  .  )'  ,ik 


*  The  vote  on  the  ways  and  means  to  raise  this  mm  is  singular :  Every 
member  of  the  council  to  pay  a  poll  tax  of  forty  shillings ;  an  assembly  man, 
twenty  shillings ;  a  lawyer  in  practice,  twenty  shillings ;  every  man  wearing  a 
periwig,  five  shillbgs  and  six  pence;  a  bachelor  of  twenty-five  years  and 
upwards,  two  sliillings  and  three  pence ;  every  freeman  bttwoon  sixteen  and 
sixty,  nine  pence;  the  owners  of  slaves,  for  each,  one  shilling. 

VOL.  I. — 29  » 


iV 


i\i 


i  I 


/ 


JKKfihr^yjIi^iMlti.-  ;;  -;;:  '- 


*^=^^F 


m 


ui§T<inf  OF  HE^-tofik. 


V      (  I  ' 


\'      ,-' 


I  i/ 


Thdugh  bur  frontiers  enjoyed  the  pi'ofoundeat 
tranqoillity  all  the  next  winter,  and  we  had  expended 
thirteen  hundred  pounds  in  supporting  one  hundred 
fusiliers  about  Albany,  besides  the  four  independent 
companies  in  the  pay  of  the  crown,  yet  his  excel- 
lency demanded  provisions  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  assembly,  in 
April,  1704.  The  house  having  reason  to  suspect 
that  the  several  sums  of  eighteen  and  thirteen  hun- 
dred pounds  lately  raised  for  the  public  service,  had 
beeh  prodigally  expended  or  embezzled,  prudently 
declined  any  farther  aids  till  they  were  satisfied  that 
no  misapplication  had  been  made  ;  for  this  purpose 
ihey  appointed  a  committee,  who  reported  that  tber^ 
^aa  a  balance  of  near  a  thousand  pounds  due  to  the 
colony.  His  lordship,  who  had  hitherto  been  treated 
with  great  complaisance,  took  oDence  ut  this  paT- 
isitnonious  scrutiny,  and  ordered  the  aiiisembly  to 
attend  him;  when,  ailer  the  example  of  Fletcher, 
whom,  abating  that  man*s  superior  activity,  his 
lordship  most  resembled,  he  made  an  angry  speech, 
in  which  he  charges  them  with  innovations  never 
attempted  by  their  predecessors,  and  hopes  ihey  may 
not  force  him  to  exert  "  certain  powers"  vested  in 
hiih  by  the  queen.  But  what  he  more  particularly 
took  notice  of  was  their  insisting  in  several  late  bills 
upon  the  title  of  "  General  Assembly,''  and  a  saving 
of  the  **  Rights  of  the  House,''  in  a  resolve  agreeing 
to  an  amendment  for  preventing  delay,  with  respect 
to  which  his  lordship  has  these  words :  "  I  know  of 
no  right  that  you  have  as  an  assembly,  but  such  as 
the  queeu  is  pleased  to  allow  you."  As  to  the  vote 
by  which  they  found  a  balance  due  to  the  colony  of 


.\      ! 


\ 


1 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YOBK. 


170 


butidest 
[pended 
lundred 
pendent 
B  excel- 
red  and 
nbly,  in 
suspect 
len  hun- 
rice,  had 
rudently 
tied  that 
pufpo8e 
bat  there 
lie  to  the 
n  treated 
this  paf- 
mbly  to 
^'letcher, 
vity,  his 
r  speech) 
[IS  never 
hey  may 
nested  in 
ticularly 
ate  bills 
a  saving 
agreeing 
1  respect 
know  of 
such  as 
the  vote 
colony  of 


nine  hundred  and  thirteen  pound?,  fifteen  ■hillings, 
"  it  is  true  (snys  his  lordship)  the  queen  is  pleased 
to  command  me,  in  her  instructions,  to  permit  the 
assembly  from  time  to  time,  to  view  and  examine 
the  accounts  of  money,  or  value  of  money,  disposed 
by  virtue  of  the  laws  made  by  them,  but  you  can  in 
nowise  meddle  with  that  money;  but  if  you  find  an/ 
misapplication  of  any  of  thi^t  money,  you  ought  to 
acquaint  me  with  it,  that  I  may  take  care  to  see  those 
mistuHes  rectified  which  I  shall  certainly  do." 
•  The  hoMse  bore  ihese  rebukes  with  the  ut^nos^ 
passiyeness,  contenting  themselves  with  little  ibIsq 
than  a  general  complaint  of  the  deficiency  of  tl^e 
revenue,  which  bepame  the  subject  of  tbieir  p^r^u- 
lar  consideratiop  in  the  fall;  but  though  they  avpwiB4 
it  to  be  their  ende^voiir  to  conform  tp  the  letter 
^nd  intent  of  the  governor's  commission,  and  den^ecji 
the  charge  of  a  design  to  assume  any  of  the  powers 
of  government,  their  address  contained  a  plausc 
which  discover^  a  high  and  firm  spirit : 

"  My  lord,  this  assembly  being  intrusted  by  the 
people  of  this  plantation  with  the  care  of  their  liberr 
ties  and  properties,  and  sensible  of  their  ovyn  wealf  r 
ness,  lest  through  ignorance  or  inadvertency,  they 
should  consent  to  any  thing  hurtful  to  tli,emselves 
or  their  posterity,  in  all  things  admitting  of  doubts 
are  witling  to  save  their  rights:  and  those  rij^hts 
they  niean  to  be  th^t  natural  and  civil  liberty  so 
ofpen  claimed,  declared,  land  cpnfirmed  by  the 
!^ngliah  laws,  and  which  they  conoeive  every  free 
Elngli^hman  is  entitled  to.  Whatsoever  else  may 
i^dmit  of  cpntrpyersy,  the  peopb  of  this  colony  thin|L 
they  have  an  undoubted,  true^  and  entire  property  ii^ 


!  H^ 


..  \ 


'^-«*«1M»t..-^',-.,j»hM"""" 


180 


HISTORT   OF  NEW-YORK. 


I    i 


%     I  ! 


\  ; 


their  goods  nn<1  estates,  of  which  they  ought  not  to 
be  (Jivesied  but  by  their  tree  consent,  in  such  man- 
ner, to  such  endx  and  purposes,  ns  they  shall  think 
fit,  and  not  otherwise.  If  the  contrary  should  be 
admitted,  all  notion  of  property  would  cease ;  every 
man  is  the  must  proper  ju(>ge  of  his  own  capacity  in 
giving,  and  the  present  extreme  poverty  of  this  coun- 
try is  uuui  visible  and  too  apparent."  • .  '/,-;.<4  v*^ 
The  following  was  an  answer  from  his  lordship: 
"  I  think  it  my  duty  to  require  you  (which  1  now 
do)  to  lay  before  me,  as  soon  as  may  be,  what  those 
rights  are,  which  you  pretend  to  save  in  that  vote." 
His  lordship  could  expect  only  a  general  answer,  nor 
from  the  moderate  principles  of  the  people  of  that 
day,  did  he  dread  intimations  inconsistent  with  their 
loyalty  to  the  queen,  or  their  disaffection  to  the 
parent  kingdom.  The  colony  politicians  of  early 
days  contented  themselves  with  general  declarations 
owning  a  subordination,  and  yet  claiming  English 
privileges  ;  leaving  it  to  their  posterity  to  ascertain 
the  boundary  between  the  supremacy  of  England  and 
the  submission  of  her  colonies.  Happy  if  both  coun- 
tries had  adopted  the  poet's  rule, 

"  Sunt  eerti  deoique  fines  "  "  '  "■ 

Quos  ultra  citra  que  nequit  consistere  rectum."    ■  .  >  ■ 

The  council  and  assembly  spoke  the  general  sense 
of  the  colony  in  the  following  passage  of  their  joint 
representation  in  favor  of  the  port  of  Oswego : 

*'  October  29th,  1730.  We  are  truly  sensible  of, 
and  as  truly  grateful  for,  the  many  principal  favours 
by  which  his  majesty  and  his  royal  predecessors 
have  distinguished  this  colony.  Our  loyalty  and 
fidelity  to  his  illustrious  house,  our  unfeigned  love 


•^^Lu^:-"*''. 


i"-|i     ■  u'jCWii.tiiiiiiiif'i 


HISTORY   OF  NBW'TORK. 


181 


and  affection  for  our  mother  country,  and  the  hnppy 
dependance  which  wc  huve  upon  the  crown  and 
kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  lay  U8  muU'-r  all  natural 
and  civil  obligHtions  so  to  net  in  humble  station,  as 
may  render  us  useful  and  serviceable." 

Our  ancestors  claimed  every  social  benefit  not 
injurious  to  the  mother  country,  nor  inconsistent 
with  their  loyalty  to  the  crown  or  their  dependance 
upon  Great  Britain.  ^      "     ' 

The  governor  on  the  one  hand,  then  proposed  an 
additional  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  on  certain  goods  not 
immediately  imported  from  Europe,  to  which  the 
assembly  on  the  other  were  utterly  averse,  and  as 
soon  OS  they  resolved  againttt  it,  the  very  printer, 
clerk,  and  door-keeper,  were  denied  the  payment  of 
their  salaries.  Several  other  i^'^mands  being  made 
for  the  public  debts,  the  house  resolved  to  address 
his  lordship  for  an  exact  account  of  the  revenue, 
which,  together  with  their  refusal  to  admit  the  .coun- 
cil's amendment  to  a  money  bill,  gave  him  such  high 
provocation,  that  he  was  induced  to  dissolve  an  as- 
sembly, whose  prodigal  liberality  hud  justly  exposed 
them  to  the  resentment  of  the  people. 

The  lords  of  trade  approved  of  the  dissolution, 
and  added  :  "  we  conceive  no  reason  why  the  coun- 
cil should  not  have  a  right  to  amend  all  bills  sent 
up  by  the  assembly,  even  those  relating  to  money." 
It  continued  nevertheless  to  be  the  unparliamentary 
practice  of  that  day  (1704)  not  only  to  send  reasons 
in  writing  for  and  against  amendments  proposed  to 
bills,  but  for  the  speaker  to  go  up  with  the  whole 
house  to  a  dialogue  with  the  council,  where  the 


'.      " 


\  ' 


'.  \) 


i  i 


} 


^ifear*"  "t'utimea..: 


182 


HISTORY    OF  NEW-YORK. 


1^1      \ 


^  u 


I 


>.X' 


(n 


^ ' 


governor  tak-  ^^  the  chair,  he  became  a  party  in  all 
diapiites  between  the  council  and  asoembly. 

The  new  aeisembly  which  met  on  the  14th  of  June, 
1705,  neglected  the  affair  of  the  revenue  and  the 
additional  duty,  though  his  lordship  strongly  recom-n 
mended  them  both.  Among  the  principal  acta  passed 
at  this  meeting  is  that  for  ihe  benefit  of  the  clergy, 
who  were  entitled  to  the  salaries  formerly  established 
by  colonel  Fletcher,  which,  though  less  than  his 
lordship  recommended,  was  doubtless  a  grateful 
offering  to  his  unceasing  zeal  for  the  church,  mani-^ 
fested  in  a  part  of  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  the 
session  in  these  words :  **  The  difficulties  which 
some  very  worthy  ministers  of  the  church  of  England 
have  met  with,  in  getting  the  maintainance  settled 
upon  them  by  an  act  of  the  general  assembly  of  this 
province,  passed  in  the  year  1693,  moves  me  to 
propose  to  you  the  passing  an  act  explanatory  of  the 
before-mentioned  act,  that  those  worthy  men  who 
have  ventured  to  come  so  far  for  the  service  of  God- 
in  his  cliurch,  and  the  good  and  edification  of  the 
people,  to  the  salvaticHi  of  their  souis,  may  not  for 
the  future  be  vexed,  as  some  of  them  have  been; 
but  may  enjoy  in  quiet  that  maintainance  which  was 
by  a  law  provided  for  them.*  I  farther  recommend 
to  you,  the  passing  an  act  to  provide  for  the  main- 
tainance of  some  ministers  in  some  of  the  towns 
at  the  east  end  of  Long- Island,  where  I  do  not  find 
any  provision  has  been  yet  made  for  propagating 
religion."         ;;•■,..•:,■ ,  <y..  .^^  -■..:..'■,:  - ~-,.;i;,vv-' '-'*  -^x^h" ■ 


f 


•1. 


\  V", 


*  The  majority  of  our  people  kto  of  »  contrtry  opioion,  if  my  lo^d  thoaght 
the  flrtablidiinent  wu  designed  only  for  the  episcopal  clfrffy.    ""  ',  i     ,<* 


'■^tih 


ft'K ''"'!>"' 


i 


UI8T0BT  OF  NEW-YORK. 


18d 


)     1 


;,:«  Our  harbour  being  wholly  unfortified,  a  French 
privateer  actually  entered  it  in  1 705,  and  put  the 
inhabitants  into  great  consternation.  The  assem- 
bly, at  their  session  in  June,  the  next  year,  were 
not  disinclined,  through  th  importunity  of  the 
people,  to  put  the  city  in  a  better  posture  of  defence 
for  the  future ;  but  being  ^lly  convinced,  by  his 
lordship^s  embezzlement  of  £1500  formerly  raised 
for  two  batteries  at  the  Narrows,  and  near  £1000 
levied  for  the  protection  of  the  frontiers,  that  he  was 
no  more  to  be  trusted  with  public  moneys,  offered 
a  bill  for  raising  £3000  for  fortificatitms,  appoint- 
ing that  Slim  to  be  deposited  in  the  hands  of  a 
private  person  of  their  own  nomination ;  but  his 
excellency  did  not  pass  it  till  their  next  meeting  in 
title  fall,  when  he  informed  them  that  he  had  received 
the  queen's  commands,  *'  to  permit  the  general  assem- 
bly to  name  their  own  treasurer  when  they  raised 
extraordinary  supplies  for  particular  uses,  and  which 
are  no  part  of  the  standing  and  constant  revenue ; 
the  treasurer  being  accountable  to  the  three  branches 
of  the  leghilature,  and  the  governor  always  acquaint- 
ed with  the  occasion  of  isnuing  such  warrants ;  and 
all  persons  concerned  in  the  iemuing  and  disposing 
of  such  moneys  must  be  made  accountable  to  the 
governor,  council,,  and  assembly."  <;»u?>ji /^v^ij^iv^f^: 
k;  The  vote  to  appoint  a  treasurer  for  the  public 
money  they  raised,  passed  on  the  20th  of  June, 
1705.  The  assembly  soon  after  took  occasion,  in 
framing  a  bill  to  defray  the  charges  of  fusiliers, 
spies,  and  outscouts,  for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers, 
to  render  the  sums  due  payable  by  their  trtamrer. 
The  council  called  them  to  a  conference  upon  it  the 


!^  *, 


'  1 1 


■( 


184 


HISTORY   OF  ^EW-YORK. 


KV       \ 


n< 


c^ 


I  r ;  • 


4th  of  October.  The  assembly  desired  their  ob- 
jections in  writing.  These  were,  t»iB,; . /^^i^  vr:* 
At-J:,-  That  it  gave  a  sum  to  her  majesty  and  not  to 
her  heirs  and  successors.  \  ^t^  i  -vi,;,  v-,^.?  ar^»;r.  5?^*  i;?-^; . 
,2.  That  the  treasurer  is  compelled  tu  give  security 
to  account  to  the  general  assembly,  instead  of  the 
crown,  the  high  treasurer,  or  commissioners  of  the 
treasury. 

3.  That  the  moneys  are  made  issuable  upon  pri- 
vate certificates  of  service.  And  the  council  say  they 
proceed  upon  the  royal  instructions,  which  they 
recite. 

The  assembly  answer  to  the  first,  that  it  is  plain 
from  the  bill  that  the  money  to  be  raised  is  for  the 
use  of  the  crown,  and  the  bill  in  this  respect  similar 
toothers  passed. by  this  guyernor  and  approved  at 
hume^^  ji .'  A  j«»*.-i^,  -i.  iik-i».v*-^3...,  ?'v!.i  t- .•  %Ji-^,  ,ij » ,  ,■  ?»:>>!  .><  ,^«  • . .,.,»- '_  ■ ,.  r..v,.\ 

<~»  To  the  second,  that  though  he  is  made  account- 
able to  the  general  assembly,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
bill  to  prevent  hi«i  accounting  also  to  the  queen  ai^d 
the  treasury,  -it  .viv.  ■i■»^'S4i''^«^r.t^-'>v•A^r;^^l'^^;*^ 
^Relative  to  the  third,  they  observe  that  the  in- 
struction hid  been  generally  taken  as  a  restriction 
on  the  governors,  against  the  disposition  of  public 
money  without  the  approbation  of  the  council,  and 
they  insist  upon  the  c\auae8y  :vui;xiiM%mff.-'.^^,yfimiiui^imi-- 
■tijl.  Because  governors  and  receivers-general  have 
always  quarrelled,  and  the  latter  been  suspended, 
and  all  accounting  thereby  eluded.  >!f  •>*'"•  .?:^ 

2.  Because  receivers,  on  the  loss  of  their  offices, 
have  generally  left  the  province.  «rn,r;  ,*^v^* 

3.  Because  money  raised  for  the  defence  of  Al- 
bany had  never  been  applied  to  that  use.  :.  -  -      < 


/!  < 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


185 


sir  ol?- 

■,-^.  •»'t"-  -\ 

I  not  to 

security 

of  the 

;  of  the 

pon  prl- 
say  they 
ch  they 

is  plain 
3  for  the 
t  similar 
roved  at 


account- 
in  the 
leen  and 


the  in- 

istriction 

public 

icil,  and 

jral  have 
aipended, 

r  offices, 

ce  of  Al- 


. .  -  -«.'/>;ji'» 


The  conferences  closed  by  the  revival  of  the 
objection  to  the  counciPs  interfering  in  the  amend- 
ments of  money  bills ;  and  a  sudden  prorogation 
followed,  to  such  a  distant  day,  as  his  lordship  was 
afterwards  compelled  to  retract  for  an  earlier  meet- 
ing, not  without  exciting  doubts  concerning  the 
legality  of  their  next  convention,  some  months 
before  the  day  to  which  they  had  been  in  a  passion 
prorogued. 

Though  there  was  then  reason  to  apprehend  an 
attack  from  the  French,  and  several  bills  were 
passed  to  raise  money  for  the  defence  of  the  colony, 
his  lordship  could  not  prfvail  upon  the  assembly  to 
waive  their  objections,  so  that  the  services  remained 
unprovided  for  until  the  assembly  carried  their  point 
of  having  a  treasurer  of  their  own.  with  the  queen's 
consent,  as  above  expressed  in  his  lordship's  speech 
of  27th  September,  1706  By  a  clause  in  an  act  for 
raising  a  fund  for  the  defence  of  the  frontiers,  passed 
5th  Anne,  the  treasurer  was  to  give  such  security  as 
William  NicoU,  the  then  speaker,  should  approve, 
but  no  recognizance  or  bond  could  ever  be  found. 

His  lordship's  renewing  the  proposal  of  raising 
fortifications  at  the  Narrows,  which  he  had  himself 
hitherto  scandalously  prevented,  is  a  proof  of  his 
excessive  effrontery  and  contempt  of  the  people ; 
and  the  neglect  of  the  house  to  take  the  least  notice 
either  of  that  matter  or  the  revenue,  occasioned 
another  dissolution 

Before  I  proceed  to  the  transactions  of  the  new- 
assembly,  which  did  not  meet  till  the  year  1708,  it 
will  not  be  improper  to  lay  before  the  reader  the 
account  of  a  memorable  proof  of  that  persecuting 
VOL.  I. — 2A 


i1 


\  H 


\i 


m 


^  V  ii'i  -iim-'-"-  ^'T-ni- 


186 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


spirit    which   influenced    lord    Combury's    whole 
administration.  *' 

The  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  New-York  con- 
sistqid  at  this  time  of  Dutch  Calvinists,  upon  the 
plan  of  the  church  of  Holland;  French  refugees, 
on  the  Geneva  model;  a  few  English  episcopalians; 
and  a  still  smaller  number  of  English  and  Irish 
presbyterians,  who  having  neither  a  minister  nor  a 
church,  used  to  assemble  themselves  every  Sunday 
at  a  private  house,  for  the  worship  of  God.  Such 
were  their  circumstances  when  Francis  M'Kemie 
and  John  Hampton,  two  presbyterian  ministers, 
arrived  here  in  January^]  7U7.  As  soon  as  lord 
Cornbury,  who  hated  the  whole  pernuasion,  heard 
that  the  Dutch  had  consented  to  M  Kemie^s  preach- 
ing in  their  church,  he  arbitrarily  forbid  it;  so  that 
the  public  worship,  on  the  next  sabbath,  was  per- 
formed with  open  doors  at  a  private  house.  Mr. 
Hampton  preliched  the  same  day  at  the  presbyterian 
church  in  New-Town,  distant  a  few  miles  from  the 
city.  At  that  village  both  these  ministers  were  two 
or  three  days  after  apprehended  by  Cardwel,  the 
sheriff,  pursuant  to  his  lordship's  warrant,  for  preach- 
ing without  his  license  From  thence  they  were  led 
in  triumph  a  circuit  of  several  miles  through  Jamaica 
to  New- York.  They  appeared  before  his  lordship 
with  an  undaunted  courage,  and  had  a  conference 
with  him,  in  which  it  is  difficult  to  determine 
whether  my  lord  excelled  in  the  character  of  a  savage 
bigot  or  an  unrnaimerly  tyrant.  The  ministers 
were  no  lawyers,  or  they  would  not  have  founded 
their  justification  on  the  supposed  extent  of  the 
English  act  of  toleration.    They  knew  not  that  the 


N 


HISTORY    OP  NEW-YORK. 


187 


whole 

•k  con- 
)on  the 
ifugeeS) 
palians; 
id  Irish 
3r  nor  a 
Sunday 
.    Such 
I'Kemie 
linisters, 
as  lord 
n,  heard 
i  preach- 
;  80  that 
was  per- 
se.    Mr. 
sbyterian 
from  the 
were  two 
Jwel,  the 
preach- 
were  led 
1  Jamaica 
i  lordship 
inference 
ileterraine 
fa  savage 
ministers 
e  founded 
nt  of  the 
3t  that  the 


>r 


ecclesiastical  statutes  had  no  relation  to  this  colony ; 
and  that  its  religious  state  consisted  in  a  perfect 
parity  between  protcstants  of  all  denominations. 
They  erroneously  supposed  that  all  the  penal  laws 
extended  to  ihis  province,  and  relied  for  their  de- 
fence on  the  toleration  act,  offering  testimonials  of 
their  having  complied  with  that  act  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland,   and   promised  to  certify  the  house  in 
which  M 'Kemie  had  preached  to  the  next  sessions. 
His  lordship's  discourse  with  them  was  the  more 
ridiculous,  because  he  had  Bickley,  the  attorney- 
general,  to  assist  him.   Against  the  extension  of  the 
statute,  they  insisted  that  the  penal  laws  were  limited 
to  England,  and  so  also  the  toleration  act,  because 
the  sole  intent  of  it  was  to  take  away  the  penalties 
formerly  established.     But  grant  the  position,  and 
the  consequence  they  drew  from  it  arguen  that  my 
lord  and  Mr-  Attorney  were  either  very  weak,  or 
influenced  by  evil  designs.     If  the  penal  laws  did 
not  extend  to  the  plantations,  then  the  prisoners 
were  innocent,  for  where  there  w  no  law  there  can 
be  no  transgression  ;  but  according  to  these  incom- 
parable sages,  if  the  penal  laws  and  the  toleration 
act  were  restricted  to  the  realm  of  England,  as  they 
contended,  then  the  poor  clergymen,  for  preaching 
without  his  license,  were  guilty  of  a  heinous  crime 
against  his  private,  unpublished  instructions;  and 
for  this  cause  he  issued  an  informal  precept  to  the 
sheriff  of  New-York,  for  their  commitment  to  jail 
till  further  orders.     They  continued  in  confinement, 
through  the  absence  of  Mompesson,  the  chief  jus- 
tice, who  was  in  New-Jersey,  six  weeks  and  four 
days,  but  were  then  brought  before  him  by  writ  of 


i 


P<».1«»,i4>— .V  ;,Mr~~-'' 


..^jiii^mM^ 


188 


HISTOUT  OF  NEW-TORK. 


habeeu  corpus.  Mompesson  being  a  man  of  learning 
in  his  profession,  and  his  lordahip  now  apprised  of 
the  illegality  of  his  first  warrant,  issued  another  on 
the  very  day  of  the  test  of  the  writ,  in  which  he  vir- 
tually contradicts  what  he  had  before  insisted  on  at 
his  conference  with  the  prisoners.  For  according 
to  this,  they  were  imprisoned  for  preaching  without 
being  qualified  as  the  toleration  act  required,  though 
they  had  offered  themselves  to  the  sessions  during 
their  imprisonment.  They  were  then  bailed  to  the 
next  supreme  court,  which  began  a  few  days  after. 
Great  pains  were  taken  to  secure  a  grand  jury  for 
the  purpose,  and  among  those  who  found  the  indict- 
ment, to  their  shame  be  it  remembered,  were  several 
Dutch  and  French  protestants. 

Mr.  M'Kemie  returned  to  New- York,  from  Vir- 
ginia, in  June,  and  was  now  come  to  his  trial  on  the 
indictment  found  at  the  last  court.  As  to  Mr.  Hamp- 
ton, he  was  discharged,  no  evidence  being  offered 
to  the  grand  jury  against  him. 

Bickley,  the  atlttrney  general,  managed  the  prose- 
cution in  the  name  of  the  queen  ;  Reignere,  NicoU, 
and  Jamison  ap|>eared  for  the  defendant.  The  trial 
was  held  on  the  6th  of  June,  and  being  a  cause  of 
great  expectation,  a  numerous  audience  attended. 
Roger  Mompesson  sat  on  the  bench  as  chief  justice, 
with  Robert  Mil  ward  and  Thomas  Wenham  for  his 
assistants.  The  indictment  was  in  substance,  that 
Francis  M'Kemie,  pretending  himself  to  be  a  pro- 
testant  dissenting  minister,  contemning  and  endea- 
vouring to  subvert  the  queen*s  ecclesiastical  supre- 
macy, unlawfully  preached  without  the  governor's 
license  first  obtained,  in  derogation  of  the  royal 


/'    < 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


189 


authority  and  prerogative :  that  he  used  other  rites 
and  ceremonieH  than  thone  contained  in  the  com- 
mun-prayer  book.  And  lastly,  that  being  unqualified 
by  law  to  preach,  he  nevertheless  did  preach  at  an 
illegal  conventicle:  and  both  these  last  charges  were 
laid  to  be  contrary  to  the  form  of  ihe  English  sta- 
tutes. For  it  seems  that  Mr.  Attorney  was  now  of 
opinion,  that  the  penal  laws  di<l  extend  to  the  Ame- 
rican plantations,  though  his  sentiments  were  the 
very  reverse  at  the  first  debate  before  his  excellency : 
but  Bickley  was  rather  remarkable  for  a  voluble 
tongue,  than  a  penetrating  head  or  much  learning. 
To  support  this  prosecution  he  endeavoured  to  prove 
the  queen's  ecclesiastical  supremacy  in  the  colonies, 
and  that  it  was  delegated  to  her  noble  cousin  the 
governor;  and  hence  he  was  of  opinion  that  his  lord- 
ship's instructions  relating  to  church  matters  had  the 
force  of  a  law.  He  in  the  next  place  contended  for 
the  extension  of  the  statutes  of  uniformity,  and  upon 
the  whole,  was  pletised  to  say  that  he  did  not  doubt 
the  jury  would  find  a  verdict  for  the  queen.  Reig- 
nere,  for  the  defendant,  insisted  that  preaching  was 
no  crime  by  the  common  law,  that  the  statutes  of 
uniformity  and  the  act  of  toleration  did  not  extend 
here,  and  that  the  governor's  instructions  were  not 
laws.  Nicoll  spoke  to  the  same  purpose,  and  so 
did  David  Jamison;  but  M'Kemie  concluded  the 
whole  defence  in  a  speech,  which  sets  his  capacity 
in  a  very  advantageous  light.  The  reader  may  see 
it  in  the  narrative  of  this  trial,  which  was  first  pub- 
lished at  the  time,  and  since  reprinted  at  New- York 
in  the  year  1755.  The  chief  justice,  in  his  charge, 
advised  a  special  verdict,  but  the  jury  found  no  dif- 


l 


\  .1 


I  >t 


I 


190 


HISTORY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


ficulty  to  acquit  the  defendant,  who  through  mo 
shameful  partiality  of  the  court,  was  not  discharged 
from  his  recognizance,  till  they  had  illegally  extort- 
ed all  the  fees  of  Win  prosecution,  which,  together 
with  his  expenses,  amounted  to  eighty-three  pounds 
seven  shillmgs  and  six  pence.  ,  ,'  .1  ,-  ./' 

Lord  Cornbury  was  now  daily  losing  the  favour  of 
the  people.  The  friends  of  Leisler  had  him  in  the 
utmost  abhorrence  from  the  beginning,  and  being 
all  spies  upon  his  conduct,  it  was  impossible  for  his 
lordship  to  commit  the  smallest  crime  unnoticed. 
His  persecution  of  the  presbytorians  very  early  in- 
creased the  number  of  his  enemies;  the  Dutch  too 
were  fearful  of  his  religious  rage  against  them,  as  he 
disputed  their  right  to  call  and  settle  ministers,  or 
even  schoolmasters  without  his  special  license  His 
excessive  avarice,  his  embezzlement  of  the  public 
money,  and  his  son! id  refusal  to  pay  his  private 
debts,  bore  so  heavily  upon  his  reputation,  that  it 
was  impossible  for  his  adherents  either  to  support 
him  .;  themselves  against  the  general  opposition. 
Such  being  the  temper  of  the  people,  his  lordship 
did  not  succeed  according  to  his  wishes  in  the  new 
assembly,  which  met  on  the  19th  of  August,  1708. 
The  members  were  all  against  him,  and  William 
NicoU  was  again  chosen  speaker.  . 

Among  the  several  things  recommended  to  their 
consideration,  the  affair  of  the  revenue,  which  was 
to  expire  in  May  following,  and  the  propriety  of 
making  presents  to  the  Indians  were  the  chief;  the 
house  were  not  insensible  of  the  importance  of  the 
Indian  interest,  and  of  the  infinite  arts  of  the  French, 
to  seduce  them  from  our  alliance,  but  suspicious  that 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-TORK. 


191 


his  lordship,  who  heretofore  had  given  himself  little 
concern  about  that  matter,  was  seeking  a  fresh  op- 
portunity to  defraud  the  public,  they  dexired  him  to 
give  them  a  list  of  the  articieu  of  which  the  presents 
were  to  consist,  together  with  an  estimate  of  the 
charge,  before  they  wuuld  provide  for  that  donation. 
'    With  respect  to  the  revenue,  his  lordship  was  not 
so  successful,  for  the  assembly  resolutely  refused  to 
continue  it;  though  they  consented  to  an  act  to  dis- 
charge him  from  a  contract  of  £250,  and  upwards, 
which  he  had  made  with  one  Hanson  for  the  public 
service.     Thomas  Byerly  was  at  that  timexollector 
and  receiver-general,  and  by  pretending  that  the 
treasury  was  exhausted,  the  debts  of  the  government 
were  unpaid.     This  gave  rise  to  many  petitions  to 
the  assembly  to  make  provision  for  their  discharge. 
Colonel  Schuyler,  who  had  expended  large  sums  on 
the  public  credit,  was  among  the  principal  sufferers, 
and  joined  with  several  others  in  an  application 
to  the  house,  that  Byerly  might  be  compelled  to 
account.     The  disputes  relating  to  this  matter  took 
up  a  considerable  part  of  the  session,  and  were  liti- 
gated with  great  heat.     Upon  the  whole  an  act  was 
passed  for  refunding  £700  which  had  been  misap- 
plied. 

The  resolutions  of  the  commitee  of  grievances, 
approved  by  the  house,  show  the  general  objections 
of  the  people  to  his  lordship's  administration.  These 
were  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  session,  and  yet 
we  find  this  haughty  lord  subdued  by  the  opposition 
against  him,  and  so  dispirited  through  indigence, 
and  the  incessant  soli6itations  of  his  creditors,  that 
he  not  only  omitted  to  justify  himself,  but  to  show 


1 


lii 


.#• 


192 


HUTORT  or  NCW-TOBK* 


( 


even  an  impotent  resentment;  for  after  all  the 
censures  of  the  house,  he  tamely  thanked  tht^m  for 
passing  the  bill  to  discharge  him  from  a  small  debt, 
which  they  could  not  in  justice  have  refused.  The 
resolutions  were  in  these  words:  ^     , 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee, 
that  the  appointing  coroners  in  this  colony,  without 
their  being  chosen  by  the  people,  is  a  grievance  and 
contrary  to  law.*  a  -;  ■ 

<  "  Mewlved,  That  it  is  and  always  has  been  the 
unquestionable  right  of  every  freeman  in  this  colony, 
that  he  ^hath  a  perfect  and  entire  property  in  his 
goods  and  estate. 

*'  Jtesolvedt  That  the  imposing  and  levying  of  any 
moneys  upon  her  majesty's  subjects  of  this  colony, 
under  any  pretence  or  colour  whatsoever,  without 
consent  in  general  asnembly,  is  a  grievance  and  a 
violation  of  the  people's  property. 

"Resolved,  That  for  any  officer  whatsoever  to 
extort  from  the  people  extravagant  and  unlimited 
fees,  or  any  money  whatsoever,  not  positively  esta- 
blished and  regulated  by  consent  in  general  assem- 
bly, is  unreasonable  and  unlawful,  a  great  grievance, 
and  tending  to  the  utter  destruction  of  all  property 
in  this  plantation. 

'*  Resolved,  That  the  erecting  a  court  of  equity 
without  consent  in  general  assembly,  is  contrary  to 
law,  without  precedent,  and  of  dangerous  conse- 
quence to  the  liberty  and  property  of  the  subjects. 

**  Resolved,  That  the  raising  of  money  for  the 
government,  or  other  necessary  charge,  by  any  tax, 

*  See  lord  Bacon's  works,  fol.  edit,  vol.  n.  152 ;  and  yet  the  coroners  in  erery 
county  are  still  appointed  by  the  governor. 


1^ 


UIBTOKY  OF  NEW-YOKK. 


199 


nU  the 
v.m  for 
II  debt, 
.    The 

imittee, 
without 
uce  and 

leen  the 

colony, 

ty  in  his 

g  of  any 

I  colony, 

without 

ce  and  a 

oever  to 
inlimited 
ely  esta- 
il  asaem" 
rievance, 
property 

[)f  equity 
ntrary  to 
18  con»e- 
subjects* 
for  the 
r  any  tax, 


impost,  or  burthen  on  goods  imported,  or  exported, 
or  any  clog,  or  hindrance  on  traffic  or  commerce,  is 
found  by  experience  to  be  the  expulsion  of  many, 
and  the  impoveriwhing  of  the  rent  of  the  planters, 
freeholders,  and  inhabitants  of  this  colony  ;  of  most 
pernicious  consequence,  which,  if  continued,  will 
unavoidably  prove  the  ruin  of  the  colony.        :    .?  »< 

"Regolvedt  I'hat  the  excessive  sums  of  money 
screwed  from  masters  of  vessels  trading  h<.>re  under 
the  notion  of  port  charges,  visiting  the  said  vessels 
by  supernumerary  officers,  and  taking  extraordinary 
fees,  is  the  great  discouragement  of  trtide,  and 
strangers  coming  amongst  us,  beyond  the  precedent 
of  any  other  port,  and  without  colour  of  law. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  compelling  any  maii,  upon 
trial  by  a  jury  or  otherwise,  to  pay  any  fees  for  his 
prosecution,  or  any  thing  whatsoever,  unless  the  fees 
of  the  officers  whom  he  employs  fur  his  necessary 
defence,  is  a  great  grievance,  and  contrary  to 
justice."* 

Lord  Cornbury  was  no  less  obnoxious  to  the 
people  of  New-Jersey  than  to  those  of  New- York. 
The  assembly  of  that  province,  impatient-  of  his 
tyranny,  drew  up  a  complaint  against  him,  which 
they  sent  home  to  the  queen. 

Her  majesty  graciously  listened  to  the  cries  of  her 
injured  subjects,  divested  him  of  hin  power,  and 
appointed  lord  Lovelace  in  his  stead,  declaring  that 
she  would  not  countenance  her  nearest  relations  in 
oppressing  her  people.  ' 

As  soon  as  my  lord  was  superseded,  his  creditors 


*  '^  I 


s^ 


•oneiB  in  every 


*  This  had  a  special  relation  to  the  lato  prosecuUoii  of  Mr.  M'Kemio. 

VOL.  1. — 25 


■  t » „«».._»,'.,>. , 


194 


HISTORY    OP  meW-TORK. 


ll 


^f 


: 


threw  him  into  the  custody  of  the  pherifT  of  New- 
York  ;  and  lie  Yemained  here  till  the  death  of  his 
father,  when  succeeding  to  the  earldom  of  Claren- 
don, he  returned  to  Kngland. 

We  never  had  a  governor  no  universally  detested, 
nor  any  who  so  richly  deserved  tiie  public  abhor- 
rence. In  spite  of  his  noble  descent,  his  behaviour 
was  trifling,  mean,  and  extravagant. 

It  was  not  uncommon  for  him  to  dress  himself  in 
a  woman's  habit,  and  then  to  patrole  the  fort  in  wMch 
he  resided.  Such  freaks  of  low  humour  «x  to^^d 
him  to  the  universal  contempt  of  the  people;  •»ut 
their  indignation  was  kindled  by  ois  d<jS|..uc  rule, 
savage  bigotry,  insatiable  nvarir  .id  injustice  nut 
only  to  the  public  but  ev  n  his  private  <*reditors; 
for  he  left  some  of  the  l<>west  tradesmen  in  his  em- 
ployment unsatisfied  in  their  just  demands.    . 

John,  lord  Lovelace,  baron  of  Hurley,  was  ap- 
pointed to  this  government  in  the  spring,  1708,  but 
did  not  arrive  here  till  the  18th  of  December  fullow- 
^ng.  Lord  Cornbury's  oppres8ive,  mean  adminis- 
tration had  long  made  the  people  very  desirous  of  a 
change ;  and  therefore  his  successor  was  received 
with  universal  joy.  Having  dissolved  the  general 
assembly  soon  after  his  accession  to  the  government, 
he  convened  a  new  one  on  the  5th  of  April,  1709, 
which  consisting  of  members  of  the  same  interest 
with  the  last,  re-elected  William  I\icoll,  the  former 
speaker,  into  the  chnir.  His  lordship  told  them  at 
the  beginning  o\  ^.u,  Mossion,  "  That  he  I  ad  brought 
with  him  larg  »:  'lie  ■.  of  soldiers  and  stores  of  war, 
as  well  as  presents  for  the  Indians,"  than  which 
nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  the  people.  He 


IIINTORY   OP   NEW- YORK. 


195 


New- 
of  his 
llaren- 

leatedy 
abhor- 
[laviour 

naelf  in 
■\  wli'icli 

y.»0>i  '^d 

ac  rule, 
itice  not 
editors ; 
his  em- 

[was  ap- 
7(18,  but 
r  follow- 
adiiiinis- 
ous  of  a 
received 
general 
ernmenti 
•il,  1709, 
interest 
former 
them  at 
brought 
s  of  war, 
in  which 
Dple.  He 


lamented  the  groatncss  of  the  provincial  debts,  and 
the  decay  of  public  credit ;  but  atiil  recommended 
their  ruJHing  u  revenue,  for  the  same  term  with  that 
establisiiiod  hy  the  act  in  the  lltli  year  of  tlie  last 
rei^n.  He  al^o  pressed  the  discharge  of  the  debts 
of  the  ^.vrrnment,  and  their  examination  of  the 
public  accounts,  '  lliHt  it  may  be  known  (says  he) 
what  this  debt  in,  and  that  it  may  appear  hercufler 
to  alf  the  world,  tiiat  it  was  not  contracted  m  my 
time."  This  oblique  reflection  upon  his  predecessc  •, 
who  was  now  ignominiouHly  imprisoned  by  hiss 
creditors,  was  displeasing  to  no  body. 

Though  the  assembly  in  their  answer,  hear  4y 
congratulated  his  lordship's  arrival,  and  th.-  ik(!d  ^e 
queen  for  her  care  of  the  province,  yet  tney  sutu- 
ciently  intimated  their  disinclination  to  raise  the 
revenue,  which  the  govern  ir  had  requested.  "  Ou> 
earnest  wishes  (to  use  the  words  of  the  address)  arr 
that  suitable  measures  may  be  taken  to  encourage 
the  few  inhabitants  left  to  .lay  in  it,  and  others  to 
come.  The  just  freedom  enjoyed  by  our  neighbours, 
by  the  tender  indulgence  of  the  government,  has 
extremely  drained  and  exhausted  us  both  of  people 
and  stock;  whilst  a  different  treatment,  the  wrong 
methods  too  long  taken,  and  severities  practised 
here,  have  averted  and  deterred  the  usual  part  of 
mankind  from  settling  and  com  ng  hitherto."  To- 
wards the  close,  they  assure  lim,  *'  that  as  the 
beginning  of  his  government  gav  -  them  a  delightful 
prospect  of  tranquillity,  so  the)  were  come  with 
minds  prepared  to  consult  the  go  »d  of  the  country 
and  his  satisfaction." 


K 


^ 


1/     ?     \l 


196 


HISTORY    OP   NEW-YORK. 


!•    '■    .<i 


Mil 


if 


h 


The  principal  matter  which  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  assembly,  was  the  affair  of  the  revenue. 
Lord  Cornbury's  conduct  had  rendered  them  utterly 
averse  to  a  permanent  support  for  the  future,  and 
yet  they  were  unwilling  to  quarrel  with  the  new 
governor.  They  however  at  last  agreed  on  the  5th 
of  May,  to  raise  £2500  to  defray  the  charges  of  the 
government  to  the  1st  of  May  ensuing,  £1600  of 
which  was  voted  to  his  excellency,  and  the  remaining 
sums  towards  a  supply  of  fire  wood  and  candles  to 
the  several  forts  in  \ew-York,  Albany,  and  Sche- 
nectady ,  and  for  payment  of  small  salaries  to  the 
printer,  clerk  of  the  council,  and  Indian  interpreter. 

This  new  project  of  providing  annually  for  the 
support  of  government,  was  contrived  to  prevent 
the  mischiefs  to  which  the  long  revenues  had  for- 
merly exposed  us.  But  as  it  rendered  the  governor 
and  all  the  other  servants  of  the  crown  dependent 
upon  the  assembly,  a  rupture  between  the  several 
branches  of  the  legislature  would  doubtless  have 
ensued  ;  but  the  very  day  in  which  ihe  \ote  passed 
the  house  his  ltird>hip  died  of  a  disorder  contracted 
in  crossing  thci  ferry  at  his  first  arrival  in  the  city  of 
New  York  His  lady  continued  here  long  after  his 
death,  soliciting  for  the  sum  voted  to  her  husband ; 
but  though  the  queen  interposed  by  a  letter  in  her 
behalf,  nothing  was  allowed  till  several  years  after- 
wards. 


♦         I 


H 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


PART  IV. 

FROM  THE   CANADA  EXPEDITION  IN  1709,  TO  THE 
ARRIVAL  OF  GOVERNOR  BURNET. 


*      ,?J 


Lord  Lovelace  being  dead,  the  chief  command 
devolved  upon  liichard  Ingoldsby,  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  the  same  who  had  exercised  the  govern- 
ment several  years  before,  upon  the  decease  of 
colonel  Sioughter.  His  short  administration  is 
remarkable,  not  for  his  extraordinary  talents,  for  he 
was  a  heavy  man,  but  for  a  second  fruitless  attempt 
against  Canada.  Colonel  Vetch,  who  had  been 
several  years  before  at  Quebec,  and  sounded  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  was  the  first  projector  of  this 
enterprise.  The  ministry  approved  of  it,  and  Vetch 
arrived  in  Boston  and  prevailed  upon  the  New- 
England  colonies  to  join  in  the  scheme.  After  that 
he  came  to  New-York,  and  concerted  the  plan  of 
operations  with  Francis  Nicholson,  formerly  our 
lieutenant-governor,  who  at  the  request  of  Ingoldsby, 
the  council,  the  assembly,  Gurdon  Saltonstal,  the 
governor  of  Connecticut,  and  Charles  Gookin,  lieu- 
tenant-goyernor  of  Pennsylvania,  accepted  the  chief 


A^-l  I 


198 


HI8T0RY    OF  NEW-YORK. 


)  '  '• 


command  of  the  provincial  forces,  intended  to  pene- 
trate into  Canada  by  the  way  of  Lake  Champlain. 
Impoverished  as  we  were,  the    assembly   joined 
heartily  in  the  enterprise      It  was  at  this  juncture 
our  first  act  for  issuing  hills  of  credit  was  passed, 
an  expedient  without  which  we  could  not  have  con- 
tributed to  the  expedition,  the  treasury  being  then 
totally  exhausted.     Universal  joy  now  brightened 
every  man's  countenance,  because  all  expected  the 
complete  reduction  of  Canada  before  the  ensuing 
fall.     Big  with  the  pleasing  prospect  of  an  event 
which  would  put  a  period  to  all  the  ravages  of  an 
encroaching,  merciless  enemy,  extend  the  British 
empire,  and  augment  our  trade,  we  exerted  ourselves 
to  the  utmost  for  the  success  of  the  expedition.    As 
soon  as  the  design  was  made  knr^v!- .  to  the  house, 
twenty  ship  and  house  carpenters  were  impressed 
into  the  service  for  building  batteaus ;  commissioners 
also  were  appointed  to  purchase  provisions  and  other 
necessaries,  and  empowered  to  break  open  houses 
for  that  purpose,  and  to  impress  men,  vessels,  horses, 
and  wagons,  for  transporting  the  stores.     Four 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  men,  besides  the  inde- 
pendent companies,  were  raised  and  despatched  to 
Albany  by  the  27th  of  June,  from  whence  they 
advanced  with  the  main  body  to  the  wood  creek. 
Three  forts  were  built  there,  besides  many  block- 
houses and  stores  for  the  provisions,  which  were 
transported  with  great  despatch.     The  province  of 
New- York,  all  things  considered,  has  the  merit  of 
having  contributed  more  than  any  of  her  neighbours 
towards  this  expedition.  Pennsylvania  gave  no  kind 
of  aid,  and  New-Jersey  was  only  at  the  expense  of 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


199 


£3000.  One  hundred  batteaus,  as  many  birch 
canoes,  and  two  of  the  forts  were  built  entirely, 
and  the  other  fort  for  the  most  part,  at  the  charge 
of  this  government.  All  the  provisions  and  stores 
for  the  army  were  transported  at  our  expense ;  and 
besides  our  quota  of  volunteers  and  the  independent 
companies,  we  procured  and  maintained  six  hundred 
Indians,  and  victualed  a  thousand  of  their  wives  and 
children  at  Albany  during  the  campaign.       :    i  / ' 

The  history  of  an  infant  country  must  consist  of 
many  events  comparatively  trivial:  they  were  never- 
theless often  characteristic.     Some  of  our  levies  for 
the  expedition  were  Dutchmen.   General  ^ich<)lson 
applied  to  Mr.  Dubois,  a  city  minister,  for  a  person 
to  read  prayers  to  the  Dutch  soldiery.    Dubois,  who, 
if  one  may  so  speak,  was  a  presbyterian  bishop 
among  the  Dutch  churches,  then  supplied  with  pas- 
tors from  Holland  and  other  parts  of  the  United 
Provinces,  and  under  the  care  of  the  (^lassis  of  Am- 
sterdam, informed  the  assembly  of  this  request. 
The  house  named  a  serious  layman,  of  the  name  of 
Paulus  Van  Viech,  for  this  service,  and  ordered  Mr, 
Dubois  and  two  other  Dutch  ministers  to  examine 
him  before  two  of  the  council  and  as  many  assem- 
blymen, "  and  if  he  was  found  orthodox,  to  ordain 
and  qualify  him  for  the  ministerial  function  accord- 
ingly."    Van  Vlech  urged  their  compliance,  and 
had  a  second  command  upon  the  ministers.     Two 
of  them,  Dubois  and  Antonides,  signified  by  a  me- 
morial, "  That  they  were  not  empowered  to  ordain 
any  person  to  the  ministerial  function  in  the  Dutch 
churches,  by  the  directions  of  the  Classis  of  Amster- 
dam ;  and  therefore  prayed  they  may  not  be  ordered 


r    <"■ 


m 


v^ 


h 


1  -• — _— 


-,.•■— ■-»r—*'- 


.-■.■•'^i,-',--^-^^'  --T'  ■rar 


^J    •  I 


200 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


i '  ^ 


to  do  any  thing  inconsistent  with  the  constitution  of 
the  church  to  which  they  belong."  Colonel  Livings- 
ton presented  this  memorial,  upon  which  no  other 
step  was  taken. 

The  legislature  was  at  that  time  chiefly  composed 
of  members  of  the  Dutch  churches,  in  which  the 
ministers  had  great  sway :  and  therefore  the  clergy 
were  puzzled  with  no  questions,  respecting  the 
divine  rights  of  ordination,  claimed  by  all  presby- 
terian  ministers;  nor  a  doubt  started  concerning 
the  authority  of  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  under 
the  capitulatory  articles  of  1664. 

Having  put  ourselves  to  the  expense  of  above 
twenty  thousand  pounds  towards  this  enterprise,  the 
delay  of  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  spread  a  general 
discontent  through  the  country ;  and  early  in  the 
fall,  the  assembly  addressed  the  lieutenant-governor 
to  recall  our  forces  from  the  camp.  Vetch  and 
Nicholson  soon  after  broke  up  the  campaign,  and 
retired  to  Newport  in  Rhode-Island,  where  there 
was  a  congress  of  governors.  Ingoldsby,  who  was 
invited  to  it,  did  not  appear  in  compliance  with  the 
inclination  of  the  assembly,  who  incensed  at  the 
public  disappointment,  harboured  great  jealousies  of 
all  the  first  promoters  of  the  design.  As  soon 
therefore,  as  lord  Sunderland's  letters,  which  arrived 
here  on  the  21st  of  October,  were  laid  before  the 
house,  they  resolved  to  send  an  address  to  the  queen, 
to  lay  before  her  a  true  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  this  province  had  exerted  itself  in  the  late 
undertaking. 

Had  this  expedition  been  vigorously  carried  on, 
doubtless  it  would  have  succeeded:  the  public  aftairs 


'.*. 


'^5?'' 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


201 


at  home  were  conducted  by  a  wise  ministry,  the 
allied  army  triumphed  in  repeated  Huccosses  in 
Flanders,  and  the  court  of  Fran<'.e  was  in  no  condi- 
tion to  give  assistance  to  so  distant  a  colony  as 
Canada.  The  Indians  t)f  the  Five  Nations  were 
engaged,  through  the  indtifatigable  solicitations  of 
colonel  Schuyler,  to  join  heartily  in  the  attempt; 
and  the  eastern  colonies  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
the  Ouwenagungas,  because  those  Indians  had  a 
little  before  concluded  a  peace  with  the  confede- 
rates. In  America  every  thing  was  ripe  for  the 
attack  :  at  home,  lord  8un«lerland,  the  secretary  of 
state,  had  proceeded  so  far  as  to  despatch  orders  to 
the  queen's  ships  at  Boston  to  hold  themselves  in 
readiness,  and  the  British  troops  were  upon  the 
point  of  their  embarkation.  At  this  juncture,  the 
news  arrived  of  the  defeat  of  the  Portuguese, 
which  reducing  our  allies  to  great  straits,  the  forces 
intended  for  the  American  adventure  were  then 
ordered  to  their  assistance,  and  the  thoughts  of  the 
ministry  entirely  diverted  from  the  Canada  expe- 
dition. 

As  we  had  not  a  man  in  this  province,  who  had 
more  extended  views  of  the  importance  of  driving 
the  French  out  of  Canada  than  colonel  Schuyler,  so 
neither  did  any  person  more  heartily  engage  in  the 
late  expedition.  To  preserve  the  friendship  of  the 
Five  Nations,  without  which  it  would  be  impossible 
to  prevent  our  frontiers  from  becoming  a  field  of 
blood,  he  studied  all  the  arts  of  insinuating  himself 
into  their  favour:  he  gave  them  all  possible  encou- 
ragement and  assistance,  and  very  much  impaired 
his  own  fortune  by  his  liberality  to  their  chiefs. 

VOL.  I. — 2f> 


■I 


202 


UlSTOKY    OP  NEW- YORK. 


1.1' 


They  never  came  to  Albany  but  they  resorted  to 
his  house,  and  even  dined  at  his  table;  and  by  this 
means  he  obtained  an  ascendency  over  them  which 
was  attended  with  very  good  consequences  to  the 
province,  for  he  could  always  in  a  great  degree, 
obviate  or  eradicate  the  prejudices  and  jealousies, 
by  which  the  French  Jesuits  were  incessantly  labour- 
ing to  debauch  their  fidelity. 

Impressed  with  a  strong  sense  of  the  necesity  of 
some  vigorous  measures  against  the  French,  colonel 
Schuyler  was  extremely  discontented  at  the  late 
disappointment,  and  resolved  to  make  a  voyage  to 
England  at  his  private  expense,  the  better  to  incul- 
cate on  the  ministry  the  absolute  necessity  of  re- 
ducing Canada  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain.  For 
that  purpose  he  proposed  to  carry  home  with  him 
five  Indian  chiefs.  The  house  no  sooner  heard  of 
his  design  than  they  came  to  a  resolution,  which  in 
justice  to  his  distinguished  merit  I  ought  not  to  sup- 
press.    It  was  this: 

"  Resolved,  Nemine  contradicente,  That  the  hum- 
ble address  of  the  lieutenant-governor,  council,  and 
general  assembly  of  this  colony  to  the  queen,  repre- 
senting the  present  state  of  this  plantation,  be  com- 
mitted to  his  charge  and  care,  to  be  presented  by 
himself  to.  her  sacred  majesty ;  he  being  a  person 
who  not  only  in  the  last  war,  when  he  commanded 
the  forces  of  this  colony  in  chief  at  Canada,  but 
also  in  the  present,  has  performed  faithful  services 
to  this  and  the  neighbouring  colonies,  and  behaved 
himself  in  the  offices  with  which  he  has  been  in- 
trusted with  good  reputation,  and  the  general  satis- 
faction of  the  people  in  these  parts." 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


203 


The  address  to  the  queen  contains  this  ill-penned 
but  interesting  information :  "  We  conceive  it  our 
indispensible  duty  to  lay  at  your  royal  foot  how.  dan- 
gerous the  French  are  seated  at  Canada,  and  the 
maxims  they  follow  for  making  themselves  formi- 
dable there.  It  is  well  known  they  can  go  by  water 
from  Quebec  to  Montreal.  From  thence  they  can 
do  the  like,  through  rivers  and  lakes,  at  the  back  of 
all  your  majesty's  plantations  on  this  continent  as 
far  as  Carolina ;  and  in  this  large  tract  of  country 
live  several  nations  of  Indians  who  are  vastly  nume- 
rous: among  those  they  constantly  send  emissaries 
and  priests,  with  toys  and  trifles,  to  insinuate  them- 
selves into  their  favour.  Afterwards  they  send 
traders,  then  soldiers,  and  at  last  build  forts  among 
them;  and  the  garisons  are  encouraged  to  inter- 
marry, cohabit,  and  incorporate  among  them ;  and 
it  may  easily  be  concluded,  that  upon  a-  peace  many 
of  the  disbanded  soldiers  will  be  sent  thither  for 
that  purpose.  They  having  already  a  fort  and  gar- 
rison at  Tieughsaghrondie,  being  the  chief  hunting 
place  of  our  Indians,  and  about  five  hundred  miles 
from  Canada ;  and  other  forts  and  settlements  as 
many  miles  further:  how  pernicious  this  in  time 
will  prove  to  your  majesty's  subjects  on  this  coast, 
we  cannot  think  on  but  with  the  greatest  concern ; 
for  should  they,  having  by  degrees  brought  those 
vast  nations  to  their  devotions,  fall  on  your  majesty's 
said  plantations,  it  would  hardly  be  in  the  power  of 
any  forces  that  could  be  sent  from  Great  Britain  to 
reclaim  or  reduce  them;  it  being  impossible  for 
Christians  to  pursue  and  overtake  those  Indians  in 


1 


I  ;'(> 


M^:>t- 


S04 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


t      \V 


the  woods,  they  being  reputed  to  bo  swifter  than 
any  other  nations. " 

The  arrival  of  the  five  sachems  in  England  made 
a  great  bruit  throughout  the  whole  kingdom.  The 
mob  followed  wherever  they  went,  and  small  cuts  of 
them  were  sold  among  the  people.  I'he  court  was 
at  that  time  in  mourning  for  the  death  of  the  prince 
of  Denmark:  these  American  kings*  were  therefore 
dressed  in  black  under  cloths  after  the  English 
manner;  but,  instead  of  a  blanket,  they  had  each 
a  scarlet  in-grain  cloth  mantle,  edged  with  gold, 
thrown  over  all  their  other  garments.  This  dress 
was  directed  by  the  dressers  of  the  playhouse,  and 
given  by  the  queen,  who  was  advised  to  make  a 
show  of  them  A  more  than  ordinary  solemnity 
attended  the  audien.:e  they  had  of  her  majesty.  Sir 
Charles  Cotterel  conducted  them  in  two  coaches  to 

St.  James',  -and  the  lord  chamberlain  introduced 
them  into  the  royal  presence.    Their  speech,  on  the 

19th  of  April,  1710,  is  preserved  by  Oldmixooi  and 

was  in  these  words : — 

"  Great  Queen, 

f*  We  have  undertaken  a  long  voyage,  which  none 
of  our  predecessors  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  un- 
dertake, to  see  our  great  queen,  and  relate  to  her 
those  things  which  we  thought  absolutely  necessary 
for  the  good  of  her,  and  us  her  allies,  on  the  other 
side  the  water. 

**  We  doubt  not  but  our  great  queen  has  been 
acquainted  with  our  long  and  tedious  war,  in  con- 
junction with  her  children,  against  her  enemies  the 

*  ThtB  title  is  commonlj  bestowed  on  the  sachems,  though  the  Indiaqs  have 
no  such  dignity  or  office  amongst  them. 


^'^^^tfe^i 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


205 


French ;  and  that  we  have  been  as  a  strong  wall  for 
their  security,  even  to  the  loss  of  our  best  men.  We 
were  mightily  rejoiced  w.  i  we  heard  our  great 
queen  had  resolved  to  send  an  army  to  reduce 
Canada,  and  immediately,  in  token  of  friendship, 
we  hung  up  the  kettle  and  took  up  the  hatchet,  and 
with  one  consent  assisted  colonel  Nicholson  in 
making  preparations  on  this  side  the  lake ;  but  at 
length  we  were  told  our  great  queen,  by  some 
important  affairs,  was  prevented  in  her  design  at 
present,  which  made  us  sorrowful,  lest  the  French, 
who  had  hitherto  dreaded  us,  should  now  think  us 
unable  to  make  war  against  them.  The  reduction 
of  Canada  is  of  great  weight  to  bur  free  hunting, 
so  that  if  our  great  queen  should  not  be  mindful  of 
us,  we  must,  with  our  families,  forsake  our  country 
and  seek  other  habitations  or  stand  neuter,  either 
of  which  will  be  much  against  our  inclinations. 

"  In  token  of  the  sincerity  of  these  nations,  we  do 
in  their  names,  present  our  great  queen  with  these 
belts  of  wampum,  and  in  hopes  of  our  great  queen's 
favour,  leave  it  to  her  most  gracious  consideration." 

While  colonel  Schuyler  was  at  the  British  court, 
captain  Ingoldsby  was  displaced,  and  Gerardus 
Beekman  exercised  the  powers  of  government,  from 
the  lOth  of  April,  1710,  till  the  arrival  of  brigadier 
Hunter,  on  the  14th  of  June  following.  The  council 
then  present  were, 

Mr  Beekman,  Mr.  Mompesson, 

Mr.  Van  Dam,  Mr.  Barbarie, 

Colonel  Benslaer,        Mr.  Philipse, 

Hunter  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and,  when  a 
boy,  put  apprentice  to  an  apothecary.     He  left  his 


206 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


f, 


'ftr 


maiiter  and  went  into  the  army;  and  beinipr  a  man  of 
wit  and  personal  beauty,  recommended  himself  to 
lady  Hay,  whom  he  afterwards  married.  In  the 
year  1707,  he  was  appointed  lieutenant-governor  of 
Virginia,  but  being  taken  by  the  French  in  his 
voyage  to  that  colony,  he  was  carried  into  France, 
and  upon  his  return  to  England,  appointed  to  suc- 
ceed lord  Lovelace  in  the  government  of  this  and 
the  province  of  New-Jersey.  Dean  Swift*s  letter 
to  him  during  his  captivity,  shows  that  he  had  the 
honour  of  an  intimacy  with  Mr.  Addison  and  others, 
who  were  distinguished  for  their  good  sense  and 
learning;  and  perhaps  it  was  by  their  interest  he 
was  advanced  to  this  profi.r.ble  place. 

Governor  Hunter  brougLt  over  with  him  near 
three  thousand  Palatines,  who  the  year  before  fled 
to  England  from  the  rage  of  persecution  iu  Ger- 
many. Many  of  these  people  seated  themselves  in 
the  city  of  New- York,  where  they  built  a  Lutheran 
church,  which  is  now  in  a  declining  condition. 
Others  settled  on  a  tract  of  several  thousand  acres, 
in  the  manor  of  Livingston.  Their  village  there, 
called  the  Camp,  is  one  of  tho  pleasantest  situations 
on  Hudson*s  river ;  right  opposite,  on  the  west  bank 
are  many  other  families  of  them.  Some  went  into 
Pennsylvania,  and  by  the  favourable  accounts  of  the 
country,  which  they  transmitted  to  Germany,  were 
instrumental  to  the  transmigration  of  many  thou- 
sands of  their  countrymen  into  that  province.  Queen 
Anne's  liberality  to  these  people  was  not  more 
beneficial  to  them  than  serviceable  to  this  colony. 
They  have  behaved  themselves  peaceably,  and  lived 
with  great  industry.     Many  are  rich ;  all  are  pro- 


HISTORY     >F   JSEW'S     HK. 


207 


testants,  and  well  aflfected  to  the  govern  m.  T\% 
same  must  be  said  of  those  who  have  Ih  ly  settK  i 
amongst  us,  and  planted  the  lands  westward  of 
Albany.  We  have  not  the  least  ground  for  jealousy 
with  respect  to  them.  Amongst  us  they  are  few  in 
number,  compared  to  those  in  Pennsylvania :  there 
they  are  too  numerous  to  be  soon  assimilated  to  a 
new  constitution.  They  retain  all  the  manners  and 
principles  which  prevail  in  their  native  country ;  and 
as  many  of  them  are  papists,  some  are  not  without 
their  fears  that  sooner  or  later  they  will  become 
dangerous  to  our  colonies.* 

The  late  attempt  to  attack  Canada  proving  abor- 
tivei  exposed  us  to  consequences  equally  calamitous, 
dreaded,  and  foreseen.  While  the  preparations 
were  making  to  invade  it,  the  French  exerted  them- 
selves in  cajoling  their  Indian  allies  to  assist  in  the 
repulse;  and  as  soon  as  the  scheme  dropped,  nu- 
merous parties  were  sent  out  to  harass  the  English 
frontiers.  These  irruptions  were  principally  made 
on  the  northern  parts  of  New-England,  where  the 
most  savage  cruelties  were  daily  committed.  New- 
York  had,  indeed,  hitherto  escaped,  being  covered 
by  the  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations ;  but  the  danger 
we  were  in  induced  governor  Hunter,  soon  after  his 
arrival,  to  make  a  voyage  to  Albany,  where  he  met 
the  confederate  chiefs  and  renewed  the  old  covenant. 


*  The  surprising  importation  of  Germans  into  that  colony,  gave  rise  to  the 
scheme  of  dispersing  English  clergymen  and  schoolmasters  amongst  them.  The 
project  is  founded  on  principles  of  sound  polity.  If  a  political  mission  among 
the  Indians  had  been  seasonably  encouraged,  the  province  of  Pennsylvania 
might  have  escaped  all  that  shocking  devastation,  which  followed  tlie  fatal  defeat 
of  general  Braddock's  army  on  the  9th  of  July,  1755 ;  and  would  perhaps,  have 
prevented  even  the  erection  of  fort  Quesue,  which  has  ah%ady  cost  the  nation 
so  much  blood  and  treasure. 


i 


f 


yi 


1    ( 


208 


HISTORY   OF  NEW'YORK. 


While  there,  ho  was  strongly  solicited  by  the  New- 
England  governments,  to  engHgn  uur  Indians  in  a 
war  with  those  who  were  dully  rnvngiiig  their  bor- 
ders, but  he  prudently  declined  u  measure  which 
might  have  exposed  his  own  province  to  a  general 
devastation.  A  treaty  of  neutrality  subsisted  at  that 
time  between  the  confederates  and  the  Canada 
French  and  their  Indians,  which  depending  upon 
the  faith  of  lawless  savages,  wan  at  best  but  preca- 
rious, and  yet  the  only  security  we  had  for  the  peace 
of  our  borders.  A  rupture  between  them  would  have 
involved  us  in  a  scene  of  misery  at  a  time  of  all  others 
most  unseasonable.  However  the  people  of  New- 
England  might  censure  the  governor  it  was  a  proof 
of  his  wisdom  to  refune  their  request;  for  besides 
a  want  of  men  and  arms  to  defend  us,  our  forts  were 
fallen  down  and  our  treasury  exhausted. 

The  new  assembly  met  at  New- York,  on  the  1st 
of  September.  Mr.  Nicoll,  the  speaker,  Mr.  Living- 
ston, Mr  De  Lancey,  and  colonel  Morris,  were  the 
members  most  distinguished  for  their  activity  in  the 
house.  Mr.  De  Lanoey  was  a  protestant  refugee,  a 
native  of  Caen,  in  Normandy,  and,  by  marrying  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  Courtlandt,  connected  with  a  family 
then  perhaps  the  most  opulent  and  extensive  of  any  in 
the  province.  He  was  an  eminent  merchant,  and 
by  a  successful  trade  had  amassed  a  very  considera- 
ble fortune.  But  of  all  these,  colonel  Morris  had 
the  greatest  influence  on  our  public  affairs  He 
was  u  man  of  letters,  and  though  a  little  whimsical 
in  his  temper,  was  grave  in  his  manners  and  of 
penetrating  parts.  Being  excessively  fond  of  the 
society  of  men  of  sense  and  reading,  he  was  never 


IIIMTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


209 


wearied  at  a  sitting  till  the  spirits  of  the  whole  com- 
pany were  dissipated.  From  his  infancy  he  had 
lived  in  a  manner  best  adapted  to  teach  him  the 
nature  of  man,  and  to  fortify  his  mind  for  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  life.  lie  very  early  lost  both  his  father 
and  mother,  and  fell  under  the  patronage  of  his 
uncle,  formerly  an  officer  of  very  considerable  rank 
in  Cromweirs  army,  who  after  the  restoration  dis- 
guised himself  under  the  profession  of  quakerism, 
and  settled  on  a  fine  farm  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
city,  called,  after  his  own  name,  Morrisania.  Being 
a  boy  of  strong  passions,  the  general  indication^}  of 
a  fruitful  genius,  ho  gave  frequent  offence  to  his 
uncle,  and,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  through  fear 
of  his  resentment,  strolled  away  into  Virginia,  and 
thence  to  Jamaica  in  the  West  Indies,*  where,  to 
support  himself,  he  set  up  for  a  scrivener.  After 
several  years  spent  in  this  vagabond  life  he  returned 
again  to  his  un^le,  who  received  the  young  prouigal 
with  joy ;  and,  lo  reduce  him  to  regularity,  brought 
about  his  marriage  with  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Graham, 
a  fine  lady,  with  whom  he  lived  above  fifty  years, 
in  the  possession  of  every  enjoyment  which  good 
sense  and  polite  manners  in  a  woman  could  afford. 
The  greatest  part  of  his  life,  before  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Hunter,  was  spent  in  New-Jersey,t  where  he 

*  He  was  one  of  the  council  in  that  province,  and  a  judge  of  the  aupreme 
court  there,  in  1692.  Upon  the  surrender  of  the  government  to  queen  Anne,  in 
1702,  he  wos  named  to  bo  governor  ot  tlio  colony;  but  the  appointment  wu 
changed  in  favour  of  lord  Cornbury,  the  queen's  cousin, 

T  Hugh  Coppathwait,  a  quakor  zealot,  was  his  preceptor :  the  pupil  taking 
advantage  of  his  enthusiasm,  hid  himself  in  a  tree,  and  calling  to  him,  ordered 
him  to  preach  the  gospel  among  the  Mohawks.  The  credulous  quaker  took  it 
for  a  miraculous  call,  and  wuti  upon  the  point  of  setting  '  . '  ivhtin  the  cheat  wni 
discovered. 

VOL.  I.— 27 


) 


11 


(i 


'TK3«*-»*f^*' 


210 


HISTORT   OF  NEW-YORK. 


I 


V 


^ 


signalized  himself  in  the  service  both  of  the  pro- 
prietors and  the  assembly.     The  latter  employed 
him  to  draw  up  their  complaint  against  my  lord 
Cornbury,  and  he  was  made  the  bearer  of  it  to  the 
queen.  Though  he  was  indolent  in  the  management 
of  his  private  affairs,  yet  through  the  love  of  power 
he  was  always  busy  in  matters  of  a  political  nature, 
and   no  man  in  the   colony  equalled  him  in  the 
knowledge   of  the  law  and  the   arts  of  intrigue. 
From  this  character,  the  reader  will  easily  perceive 
that  governor  Hunter  showed  his  prudence  in  taking 
Mr.  Morris  into  his  confidence,  his  talents  and  ad- 
vantages rendering  him  either  a  useful  friend  or 
formidable  foe.     Such  were  the  acting  members  of 
this  assembly.     When  brigadier  Hunter  spoke  to 
them,  he  recommended  the  settling  a  revenue,  the 
defence  of  the  frontiers,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
public  credit,  which  Lord  Cornbury  had  almost  en- 
tirely destroyed.    To  stifle  the  remaining  sparks  of 
our  ancient  feudsi  he  concluded  with  these  words: "  If 
any  go  about  to  disturb  your  peace  by  reviving  buried 
parties  or  piques,  or  creating  new  ones,  they  shall 
meet  with  no  countenance  or  encouragement  from 
me ;  and  I  am  sure  they  deserve  as  little  from  you." 
The  address  of  the  house  was  perfectly  agreeable  to 
the  governor.  They  promised  to  provide  for  the  sup- 
port of  government,  and  to  restore  the  public  credit, 
as  well  as  to  protect  the  frontiers.  In  answer  to  the 
close  of  his  speech,  they  declare  their  hope,  "  That 
such  as  excited  party  contentions  might  meet  with  as 
little  credit,  and  as  much  disgrace,  as  they  deserve." 
This  unanimity,  however,  was  soon  interrupted : 
Colonel  Morris,  for  some  warm  words  dropped  in  a 


HISTORY   OP  NEW- YORK. 


211 


debate,  was  expelled  the  house;  and  soon  after  a 
dispute  arose  between  the  council  and  assembly, 
concerning  some  amendments  made  by  the  former 
to  a  bill  "  For  the  treasurer's  paying  sundry  sums  of 
money."  The  design  of  it  in  mentioning  the  par- 
ticular sums,  and  rendering  them  issuable  by  their 
own  officer,  was  to  restrain  the  governor  from 
repeating  the  misapplications  which  had  been  so 
frequent  in  a  late  administration.  The  council  for 
that  reason  opposed  it,  and  adhered  to  their  amend- 
ments ;  which  occasioned  a  pre  ogation,  on  the  25th 
of  November,  after  the  passing  of  several  other 
necessary  laws. 

Mr.  Hunter  cautiously  avoided  entering  publicly 
into  the  dispute  between  the  two  houses,  till  he 
knew  the  sentiments  of  the  ministry,  and  then  he 
opened  the  spring  session  with  a  speech  too  singular 
not  to  be  inserted : 

"  Gentlemen :  I  hope  you  are  now  come  with  a 
disposition  to  answer  the  ends  of  your  meeting,  that 
is,  to  provide  a  suitable  support  for  her  majesty's 
government  here,  in  the  manner  she  has  been 
pleased  to  direct ;  to  find  out  means  to  restore  the 
public  credit,  and  to  provide  better  for  your  own 
security. 

"They  abuse  you,  who  tell  you  that  you  are  hardly 
dealt  by  in  the  augmentation  of  salaries.  Her  ma- 
jesty's instructions  which  I  communicated  to  you  at 
our  last  meeting,  might  have  convinced  you  that  it 
was  her  tenderness  towards  her  subjects  in  the  plan- 
tations, who  suffered  under  an  established  custom 
of  making  considerable  presents  to  their  governors, 
by  acts  of  assembly,  that  induced  her  to  allot  to  each 


\'] 


h 


212 


HISTOKY    OP  NEW-YORK. 


14 


h  t, 


^Vs, 


of  them  such  a  salary  as  she  judged  sufficient  for 
their  support  in  their  respective  stations,  with  a 
strict  prohibition  of  all  such  presents  for  the  future; 
which  instruction  has  met  with  a  cheerful  and  grate- 
ful compliance  in  all  the  other  colonies. 

"If  you  have  been  in  any  thing  distinguished,  it  is 
by  an  extraordinary  measure  of  her  royal  bounty 
and  care.  I  hope  you  will  make  suitable  returns, 
lest  some  insinuations  much  repeated  of  late  years, 
should  gain  credit  at  last,  that  however  your  resent- 
ment has  fallen  upon  the  governor,  it  is  the  govern- 
ment you  dislike. 

"It  is  necessary  at  this  time  that  you  be  told  also, 
that  giving  money  for  the  support  of  government, 
and  disposing  of  it  at  your  pleasure,  is  the  same 
with  giving  none  at  all.  Her  majesty  is  the  sole 
judge  of  the  merits  of  her  servants.  This  right  has 
never  yet  been  disputed  at  home,  and  should  I  con- 
sent to  give  it  up  abroad,  I  should  render  myself 
unworthy,  not  only  of  the  trust  reposed  in  me,  but 
of  the  society  of  my  fellow-subjects,  by  incurring 
her  highest  displeasure.  If  I  have  tired  you  by  a 
long  speech,  I  shall  make  amends  by  putting  you  to 
the  trouble  of  a  very  short  answer. 

"  Will  you  support  her  majesty's  government  in  the 
manner  she  has  been  pleased  to  direct,  or  are  you 
resolved  that  burden  shall  lie  still  upon  the  governor, 
who  cannot  accuse  himself  of  any  thing  that  may 
have  deserved  this  treatment  at  your  hands  ? 

"  Will  you  take  care  of  the  debts  of  the  govern- 
ment, or,  to  increase  my  sufferings,  must  I  continue 
under  the  torture  of  the  daily  cries  of  such  as  have 


;t^*<,TJP*«gg»>J"@^'3«^J'  : 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


213 


just  demands  upon  you,  and  are  in  misery,  without 
the  power  of  giving  them  any  hopes  or  relief? 

"  Will  you  take  moi*e  effectual  care  of  your  own 
safety,  in  that  of  your  frontiers,  or  are  you  resolved 
for  the  future  to  rely  upon  the  security  of  an,  open 
winter,  and  the  caprice  of  your  savage  neighbours  ? 
I  shall  be  very  sorry  if  this  plainness  offends  you.  I 
judge  it  necessary  towards  the  establishing  and  cul- 
tivating a  good  understanding  betwixt  us ;  I  hope  it 
will  be  so  construed,  and  wish  heartily  it  may  have 
that  effect." 

Perplexed  with  this  remarkable  speech,  the  assem- 
bly, after  a  few  days,  concluded,  that  as  his  excel- 
lency had  prorogued  them  in  February,  while  he 
was  at  Burlington,  in  the  province  of  New-Jersey, 
they  could  not  sit  and  act  as  a  house ;  upon  which, 
they  were  the  same  day  dissolved. 

The  five  Indian  kings,  carried  to  England  by 
colonel  Schuyler,  having  seen  all  the  curiosities  in 
London,  and  been  much  entertained  by  many  per- 
sons of  distinction,  returned  to  Boston  with  commo- 
dore Martin  and  colonel  Nicholson ;  the  latter  of 
whom  commanded  the  forces  designed  against  Port- 
Royal  and  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  In  this  enter- 
prise the  New-England  colonies,  agreeable  to  their 
wonted  courage  and  loyalty,  lent  their  assistance ; 
and  the  reduction  of  the  garrison,  which  was  then 
called  Annapolis-Royal,  was  happily  completed  on 
the  2d  of  October,  1710.  Animated  by  this,  and 
some  other  successes  in  Newfoundland,  Nicholson 
again  urged  the  prosecution  of  the  scheme  for  the 
reduction  of  Canada ;  which  having  been  strongly 
recommended  by  the  Indian  chiefs,  as  the  only 


214 


HISTORY    OF   NEW-YORK. 


>  1       i 


effectual  means  to  secure  the  northern  colonies,  was 
now  again  resumed. 

Towards  the  execution  of  this  project,  five  thou- 
sand troops  from  England  and  Flanders  were  sent 
over,  under  the  command  of  brigadier  Hill,  the 
brother  of  Mrs.  Masham,  the  queen's  new  confidant 
on  the  disgrace  of  the  dutchess  of  Marlborough. 

The  fleet  of  transports  under  the  convoy  of  sir 
Hoveden  Walker  arrived,  after  a  month's  passage,  at 
Boston,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1711.     The  provisions 
with  which  they  expected  to  be  supplied  there  beii.j,' 
not  collected,  the  troops  landed.     Nicholson,  who 
was  to  command  the  land  forces,  came  immediately 
to  New- York,  where  Mr.   Hunter  convened  the 
assembly  on  the  2d  of  July;    The  re-election  of  the 
same  members  who  had  served  in  the  last,  was  a 
sufiicient  proof  of  the  general  aversion  to  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  revenue.     Robert  Livingston,  junior, 
who  married  the  only  daughter  of  colonel  Schuyler, 
came  in  for  Albany;  and  together  with  Mr.  Morris, 
who  was  again  chosen  for  the  borough  of  West- 
Chester,  joined  the  governor's  interest.     Brigadier 
Hunter  informed  the  assembly  of  the  intended  ex- 
pedition, and  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  and  forces ;  that 
the  quota  of  this  province  settled  by  the  council  of 
war  at  New-London,  was  six  hundred  private  sen- 
tinels and  their  officers ;  besides  which  he  recom- 
mended their  making  provision  for  building  batteaus, 
transporting  the  troops  and  provisions,  subsisting  the 
Indians,  and  for  the  contingent  charges:  nor  did  he 
forget  to  mention  the  support  of  government  and  the 
public  debts. 

The  house  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  design 


■-rjj*"" 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


216 


upon  Canada,  that  they  voted  an  address  of  thanks 
to  the  queen,  and  sent  a  committee  to  Nicholson,  to 
congratulate  his  arrival,  and  to  make  honourable 
acknowledgment  of  his  "  sedulous  application  to  her 
majesty  for  reducing  Canada."     In  a  few  days  time, 
an  act  was  passed  for  raising  forces ;  and  the  assem- 
bly, by  a  resolution,  according  to  the  governor's 
advice,  restricted  the  price  of  provisions  to  certain 
particular  sums.     Bills  of  credit  for  forwarding  the 
expedition  were  now  also  struck,  to  the  amount  of 
£10,000,  to  be  sunk  in  five  years  by  a  tax  on  estates, 
real  and  personal.   After  these  supplies  were  grant- 
ed the  governor  prorogued  the  assembly;  though 
nothing  was  done  relating  to  the  ordinary  support  of 
government. 

While  these  preparations  were  making  at  New- 
York,  the  fleet,  consisting  of  twelve  men  of  war, 
forty  transports,  and  six  store  ships,  with  forty 
horses,  a  fine  train  of  artillery  and  all  manner  of 
warlike  stores,  sailed  for  Canada  from  Boston,  on 
the  30th  of  July;  and  about  a  month  afterwards, 
Nicholson  appeared  at  Albany,  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  four  thousand  men,  raised  in  this  and  the 
colonies  of  New-Jersey  and  Connecticut:  the  several 
regiments  being  commanded  by  colonel  Ingoldsby, 
colonel  Whiting,  and  colonel  Schuyler,  tha  latter  of 
whom  procured  six  hundred  of  the  Five  Nations  to 
join  our  army. 

The  French  in  Canada  were  not  unapprised  of 
these  designs.  Vaudreuil,  the  governor-general,  sent 
his  orders  from  Montreal  to  the  sieur  De  Beaucourt, 
to  hasten  the  works  he  was  about  at  Quebec,  and 
commanded  that  all  the  regulars  and  militia  should 


'  \ 


jr*>»-.  ^MK..,..,.— »-  ■■-• 


u 


216 


HISTORY    OP  NEW- YORK. 


%  i 

\  u 

t  r 


be  held  in  readiness  to  march  on  the  first  warning. 
Four  or  five  hundred  Indians,  of  the  more  distant 
nations,  arrived  at  the  same  time  at  Montreal,  with 
Messieurs  St.  Pierre  and  Tonti,  who,  together  with 
the  Caghnuagp  proselytes,  took  up  the  hatchet  in 
favour  of  the  French.    Vaudreuil,  after  despatching 
several  Indians  and  two  missionaries  among  the 
Five   Nations,  to  detach  them  from  our  interest, 
went  to  Quebec,  which  Beaucourt  the  engineer  had 
sufficiently  fortified  to  sustain  a  long  siege.  All  the 
principal  posts  below  the  city,  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  were  prepared  to  receive  the  British  troops  in 
case  of  their  landing.    On  the  14th  of  August,  Sir 
Hoveden  Walker  arrived   with   the   fleet   in    the 
ir.outh  of  St.  Lawrence  river;  and  fearing  to  lose 
the  company  of  the  transports,  the  wind  blowing 
fresh  at  north-west,  he  put  into  Gaspey  Bay,  and 
continued  there  till  the  20th  of  the  same  month. 
Two  days  after  he  sailed  from  thence,  the  fleet  was 
in  the  utmost  danger,  for  they  had  no  soundings, 
were  without  sight  of  land,  the  wind  high  at  east 
south-east,  and  the  sky  darkened  by  a  thick  fog. 
In  these  circumstances,  the  fleet  brought  to  by  the 
advice  of  the  pilots,  who  were  of  opinion  that  if 
the  ships  lay  with  their  heads  to  the  southward,  they 
might  be  driven  by  the  stream  into  the  midst  of  the 
channel ;  but  instead  of  that,  in  two  hours  after,  they 
found  themselves  on  the  north  shore,  among  rocks 
and  islands,  and  upon  the  point  of  being  lost.  The 
men  of  war  escaped,  but  eight  transports,  contain- 
ing eight  hundred  souls,  officers,  soldiers,  and  sea- 
men, were  cast  away.     Two  or  three  days  being 
spent  in  recovering  what  they  could  from  the  shore, 


'*^li*^' 


..^,.,.ii®*^».*.'<*''/-j< 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


217 


it  was  determined  at  a  consultation  of  sea  officers, 
to  return  to  some  bay  or  harbour,  till  a  further 
resolution  could  be  taken.  On  the  14th  of  Sep- 
tember they  arrived  at  Spanish-River  bay,  where  a 
council  of  war,  consisting  of  land  and  sea  officers, 
considering  that  they  had  but  ten  weeks'  provision, 
and  judging  that  they  could  not  depend  upon  a  sup- 
ply from  New  England,  unanimously  concluded  to 
return  home,  without  making  any  further  attempts; 
and  they  accordingly  arrived  at  Portsmouth  on  the 
9th  of  October,  when,  in  addition  to  our  misfortunes 
the  Edgar,  a  70  gun  ship,  was  blown  up,  having  on 
board  above  four  hundred  men,  besides  many  per- 
sons who  came  to  visit  their  friends. 

As  soon  as  the  Marquis  De  Vaudreuil,  by  the 
accounts  of  the  fishermen  and  two  other  ships,  had 
reason  to  suspect  that  our  fleet  was  returned,  he 
went  to  Chambly,  and  formed  a  camp  of  3000  men 
to  oppose  Nicholson's  army,  intended  to  penetrate 
Canada  at  that  end.  But  he  was  soon  informed 
that  our  troops  were  returned,  upon  the  news  of  the 
disaster  which  had  befallen  the  fleet,  and  that  the 
people  of  Albany  were  in  the  utmost  consternation^ 

The  new  ministry  are  generally  censured  for  their 
conduct  in  this  expedition  by  the  whigs,  who  con- 
demn both  the  project  and  the  measures  taken 
towards  its  execution.  The  scheme  was  never  laid 
before  the  parliament,  though  it  was  then  sitting;  but 
this,  it  is  said,  was  for  the  greater  secrecy ;  and  for 
the  same  reason,  the  fleet  was  not  fully  victualled  at 
home.  They  relied  upon  New-England  for  sup- 
plies, and  this  destroyed  the  design ;  for  the  ships 

VOL.  I — 28 


V 


'  I       1 


218 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-TORK. 


(v 


(,  '. 


1     \ 


tarried  at  Boston  till  the  season  for  the  attack  was 
over. 

According  to  lord  Harley*s  account  of  this  expe- 
dition, the  whole  was  a  contrivance  of  Bolingbroke, 
Moore,  and  the  lord  chancellor  Harcourt,  to  cheat 
the  public  of  twenty  thousand  pounds.  The  latter 
of  these  was  pleased  to  say  "  No  government  was 
worth  serving,  that  would  not  admit  of  such  advan- 
tageous jobs." 

Apprehensive  that  the  enemy  would  fall  upon  our 
borders,  as  they  afterwards  really  did,  in  small 
parties,  upon  the  miscarriage  of  that  enterprise, 
governor  Hunter  pressed  the  assembly  in  autumn  to 
continue  a  number  of  men  in  pay  the  ensuing  winter, 
and  to  repair  the  out  forts.  After  the  house  had 
passed  several  votes  to  this  purpose,  his  excellency, 
during  the  session,  went  up  to  Albany,  to  withdraw 
the  forces  of  the  colony,  and  give  orders  for  the 
necessary  repairs. 

The  public  debts,  by  this  unfortunate  expedition, 
were  become  greatly  enhanced,  and  the  assembly 
at  last  entered  upon  measures  for  the  support  of  the 
government,  and  sent  up  to  the  council  several  bills 
for  that  purpose.  The  latter  attempted  to  make 
amendments  which  the  other  would  not  admit,  and  a 
warm  controversy  arose  between  those  two  branches 
of  the  legislature.  The  council  assigned  instances 
that  amendments  had  formerly  been  allowed ;  and 
besides  this  argument,  drawn  from  precedent,  in- 
sisted that  they  were  a  part  of  the  legislature, 
constituted  as  the  assembly  were  "by  the  mere 
grace  of  the  crown  f  adding  that  the  lords  of  trade 
had  determined  the  matter  in  their  favour.    The 


1 


4 


Ji  fe 


vassssr.. 


■«•-»  -~Ji|  .'iSi^ 


""'^'^^f^liMKw' 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


219 


house  nevertheless  adhered  to  iheir  resolutions,  and 
answered  in  these  words : 

"  'Tis  true,  the  share  the  council  have  (if  any)  in 
the  legislation,  does  not  flow  from  any  title  they 
have  from  the  nature  of  that  board,  which  is  only 
to  advise ;  or  from  their  being  another  distinct 
state,  or  rank  of  people  in  the  constitution,  which 
they  are  not,  being  all  commons ;  but  only  from  the 
mere  pleasure  of  the  prince  signified  in  the  com- 
mission. On  the  contrary,  the  inherent  right  the 
assembly  have  to  dispose  of  the  money  of  the 
freemen  of  this  colony,  does  not  proceed  from  any 
commission,  letters  patent,  or  other  grant  from  th^ 
crown ;  but  from  the  free  choice  and  election  of  the 
people,  who  ought  not  to  be  divested  of  their  pro- 
perty (nor  justly  can)  without  their  consent.  Any 
former  condescensions  of  other  assemblies  will 
not  prescribe  to  the  council  a  privilege  to  make  any 
of  those  amendments ;  and  therefore  they  have  it 
not.  If  the  lords  commissioners  for  trade  and 
plantations  did  conceive  no  reasons  why  the  council 
should  not  have  a  right  to  amend  money  bills,  this  is 
far  from  concluding  there  are  none.  The  assembly 
understand  them  very  well,  and  are  sufliciently  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  they  are  in,  not  to  admit  of 
any  encroachment  so  much  to  their  prejudice." 

Both  houses  adhered  obstinate  y  to  their  respec- 
tive opinions  :  in  consequence  of  which,  the  public 
debts  remained  unpaid,  though  his  excellency  could 
not  omit  passing  a  bill  for  paying  to  himself  3750 
ounces  of  plate. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  fleet,  Dudley,  Saltonstal, 
and  Cranston,  the  governors  of  the  eastern  colonies 


I 


220 


HISTORY   OF  N£W-TORK. 


I   < 


formed  a  design  of  engaging  the  Five  Nations  in  a 
rupture  with  the  French,  and  wrote  on  that  head 
to  Mr.  Hunter  ;  who,  suspicious  that  his  assembly 
would  not  approve  of  any  project  that  might  increase 
the  public  debts,  laid  their  letter  before  the  house, 
and,  according  to  his  expectations,  they  declared 
against  the  scheme. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Hunter,  by  the  advice  of  his 
council,  began  to  exercise  the  office  of  chancellor, 
having,  on  the  4th  of  October,  appointed  Messrs. 
Van  Dam  and  Philipse,  masters ;  Mr.  Whileman, 
register;  Mr.  Harrison,  examiner;  and  Messrs. 
Bharpas  and  Broughton,  clerks.  A  proclamation 
was  then  issued,  to  signify  the  sitting  of  the  court 
on  Thursday  in  every  week.  This  gave  rise  to 
these  two  resolutions  of  the  house. 

**Re8olvedi  That  the  erecting  a  court  of  chancery 
without  consent  in  general  assembly,  is  contrary 
to  law,  without  precedent,  and  of  dangerous  con- 
sequence to  the  liberty  and  property  of  the  subjects. 

"  That  the  establishing  fees,  without  consent  in 
general  assembly,  is  contrary  to  law."  The  council 
made  these  votes  the  subject  of  part  of  along  repre- 
sentation, which  they  shortly  after  transmitted  to 
the  lords  of  trade,  who,  in  a  letter  to  the  governor, 
in  answer  to  it,  approved  of  his  erecting  a  court  of 
equity,  and  blamed  the  assembly ;  adding,  "  That 
her  majesty  has  an  undoubted  right  of  appointing 
such,  and  so  many  courts  of  judicature,  in  the 
plantations,  as  she  shall  think  necessary  for  the 
distribution  of  justice." 

At  the  next  meeting,  in  May,  1712,  colonel  Hun- 
ter strongly  recommended  the  public  debts  to  the 


IlISTOUY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


m 


consideration  of  the  assembly,  informing  them,  that 
the  lords  of  trade  had  signified  tl:eir  opinion  with 
respect  to  the  amending  money  bills  in  favour  of 
the  council.  The  house  neglected  the  matters  laid 
before  them,  and  the  governor  broke  up  the  session 
by  a  short  prorogation  of  three  days.  After  which 
they  soon  passed  an  act  for  paying  his  excellency 
8025  ounces  of  plate.  Our  public  affairs  never 
wore  a  more  melancholy  aspect  than  at  this  junc- 
ture. 

Among  the  Five  Nations  many  emissaries  from 
the  French  were  daily  seducing  them  from  the 
British  interest,  and  our  late  ill  success  gave  such  a 
powerful  influence  to  their  solicitations,  that  the 
Indians  even  at  Catskill  sent  a  belt  of  wampum  to 
those  in  Dutchess  county,  to  prepare  for  a  war. 
The  Senecas  and  Shawanas  were  also  greatly  dis- 
affected, and  it  was  generally  apprehended  that  they 
would  fall  upon  the  inhabitants  along  Hudson's 
river.  An  invasion  was  strongly  suspected  by  sea 
on  the  city  of  New-York,  where  they  had  been 
alarmed  in  April  by  an  insurrection  of  the  negroes, 
who,  in  execution  of  a  plot  to  set  fire  to  the  town, 
had  burnt  down  a  house  in  the  night,  and  killed 
several  people  who  came  to  extinguish  the  fire ;  for 
which  nineteen  of  them  were  afterwards  executed. 
But  distressed  as  the  colony  then  was,  the  assembly 
were  inflexibly  averse  to  the  establishment  of  a  reve- 
nue, which  had  formerly  been  wickedly  misapplied 
and  exhausted.  At  the  ensuing  session,  in  the  fall, 
colonel  Hunter  proposed  a  scheme  to  the  assembly, 
which  was,  in  substance,  that  the  receiver-general 
should  give  security,  residing   in  the  colony,  for 


f, 


h 


223 


HISTORY    or  NEW-YORK. 


f. 


> 


the  due  execution  of  his  office;  and,  every  quarter, 
account  to  the  governor  and  council  for  the  sums  he 
might  receive.  That  the  creditors  of  the  govern- 
ment should,  every  three  months,  deliver  in  their 
demands  to  the  governor  and  council ;  when,  if  that 
quarter's  revenue  equalled  thu  amount  of  such  debts, 
the  governor,  by  the  advice  of  council,  should  draw 
for  it ;  but  if  the  revenue  for  that  quarter  should 
fall  short  of  the  governor's  demands,  then  the  war- 
rants were  to  bo  drawn  for  so  much  only  as  remained, 
and  the  creditors  should  afterwards  receive  new 
drafts  for  their  balances  in  the  next  ouarter.  That 
no  warrant  should  bo  issued  until  the  quarterly 
account  of  the  revenue  was  given  in ;  but  that  then 
they  should  be  paid  in  course,  and  an  action  of 
debt  be  given  against  the  receiver-general  in  case 
of  refusal.  That  he  should  account  also  to  the 
assembly  when  required,  and  permit  all  persons  to 
have  recourse  to  his  books.  The  house  turned  a 
deaf  ear  to  this  plausible  project,  and  displeased 
with  a  letter  from  the  lords  of  trade,  favouring  the 
council's  claim  to  amend  money  bills,  they  agreed 
upon  an  address  to  the  queen,  protesting  their 
willingness  to  support  her  government,  complaining 
of  misapplications  in  the  treasury,  intimating  their 
suspicions  that  they  were  misrepresented,  and  pray- 
ing an  instruction  to  the  governor  to  give  his  consent 
to  a  law  for  supporting  an  agent  to  represent  thera 
at  the  court  of  Great  Britain.  Provoked  by  this  con- 
duct, and  to  put  an  end  to  the  disputes  subsisting 
between  the  two  houses,  his  excellency  dissolved 
the  assembly. 
Before  the  meeting  of  the  next  assembly,  the 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


223 


the 


peace  of  Utrecht  was  concluded,  on  the  Slst  of 
March,  1713.  A  peace,  in  the  judgmont  of  many, 
dishonourable  to  Great  Britain,  and  injurious  to  her 
allies.  I  shall  only  consider  it  vi'ith  relation  to  our 
Indian  affairs.  The  reader  doubtless  observed,  that 
lord  Bellomont,  after  the  peace  at  Ryswick,  con- 
tended with  the  governor  of  Canada,  that  the  Five 
Nations  ought  to  be  considered  as  subjects  of  the 
British  crown,  and  that  the  point  was  disputed  even 
after  the  death  of  count  Frontenac.  It  docs  not 
appear  that  any  decision  of  that  matter  was  made 
between  the  two  crowns,  till  the  treaty  of  Utrecht, 
the  fifteenth  article  of  which  is  in  these  words : 

"The  subjects  of  France  inhabiting  Canada,  and 
others,  shall  hereafter  give  no  hindrance  or  molesta- 
tion to  the  five  nations  or  cantons  of  Indians,  sub- 
ject to  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain,  nor  to  the 
other  nations  of  America  who  are  friends  to  the  same. 
In  like  manner,  the  subiects  cf  Great  Britain  shall 
behave  themselves  peaceably  towards  the  Ameri- 
cans who  are  subjects  or  friends  to  France  ;  and  on 
both  sides  they  shall  enjoy  full  liberty  of  going  and 
coming  on  account  of  trade ;  also  the  natives  of  these 
countries  shall,  with  the  same  liberty,  resort,  as  they 
please,  to  the  British  and  French  colonies,  for  pro- 
moting trade  on  one  side  and  the  other,  without  any 
molestation  or  hindrance,  either  on  the  part  of  the 
British  subjects,  or  of  the  French.  But  it  is  to  be 
exactly  and  distinctly  settled  by  commissaries,  who 
are,  and  who  ought  to  be,  accounted  the  subjects  of 
Britain  or  of  France."  > 

In  consequence  of  this  treaty,  the  British  crown 
became  entitled,  at  least  for  any  claim  that  could 


/ 


/; 


;■«?• 


'«^ 


.' 


I 


f.. 


> 


w 


224 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YORK. 


justly  be  interposed  by  the  French,  to  the  sovereignty 
over  the  country  of  the  Five  Nations,  concerning 
the  extent  of  which,  as  it  never  was  adjusted  by 
commissaries,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  say  a  few 
words.  _ 

When  the  Dutch  began  the  settlement  of  this 
country,  all  the  Indians  on  Long-Island  and  the 
northern  shore  of  the  sound,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Connecticut,  Hudson,  Delaware,  and  Susquehanna 
rivers,  were  in  subjection  to  the  Five  Nations ;  and 
within  the  memory  of  persons  now  living,  acknow- 
ledged it  by  the  payment  of  an  annual  tribute.* 
The  French  historians  of  Canada,  both  ancient  and 
modern,  agree  that  the  more  northern  Indians  were 
driven  before  the  superior  martial  prowess  of  the 
confederates.  The  author  of  the  book  entitled 
"  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  de  plus  rcmarquable 
aux  Mission  de  Peres  de  la  Compagnie  de  Jesus,  en 
la  nouvelle  France,"  published  with  the  privilege  of 
the  French  king,  at  Paris,  in  1661,  writes  with  such 
singular  simplicity,  as  obviates  the  least  suspicion  of 
those  sinister  views  so  remarkable  in  the  late  French 
histories.  He  informs  us  that  all  the  northern 
Indians,  as  far  as  Hudson's  Bay,  were  harassed  by 
the  Five  Nations:  "Partout(says  he,  speaking  in  the 
name  of  the  Missionaries)  nous  trouvons  Iroquois, 
qui  comme  un  phantotne  importun,  nous  obsede 
en  tons  lieux."  In  the  account  he  gives  of  the 
travels  of  a  father,  in  1658,  we  are  told  that  the 
banks  of  the  upper  lake  were  lined  with  the  Algon- 
quins,  "  ou  la  crainte  des  Iroquois  leur  a  fait  cher- 


*^  A  little  tribe  settled  at  the  Sugar  Loaf  mountain,  in  Orange  county,  to  thii 
day  make  a  yearly  payment  of  about  £20  to  the  Mohawki. 


««-«;a|j;_^_ 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK- 


225 


cher  un  asyle."  Writing  of  the  Hurons,  "La  nation 
la  plus  sedentaire  et  la  plus  propre  pour  les  se- 
mences  de  la  foy,"  he  represents  them  as  totally 
destroyed  by  the  confederates.  Charlevoix,  whose 
history  of  New  France  is  calculated  to  countenance 
the  encroachments  of  the  French,  gives  the  follow- 
ing description  of  the  territory  of  the  confederates. 

"  The  country  of  the  Iroquois  (says  he)  extends 
itself  between  the  41st  and  44th  degrees  of  north 
latitude,  about  70  or  80  leagues  from  east  to  west, 
from  the  head  of  the  river  bearing  for  its  name  that 
of  Richelieu  and  Sorel;*  that  is,  from  lake  St.  Sacra- 
ment to  Niagara,  and  a  little  above  40  leagues  from 
north  to  south,  or  rather  north-east  and  south-west, 
from  the  head  of  the  Mowhawks'  river  to  the  river 
Ohio.  Thus  the  last-mentioned  river  and  Penn- 
sylvania bound  it  on  the  south.  On  the  west  it  has 
lake  Ontario;  and  lake  Erie  on  the  north-west;  St. 
Sacrament  and  the  river  St.  Lawrence  on  the  north; 
on  the  south  and  south-east,  the  province  of  New- 
York.  It  is  watered  with  many  rivers.  The  land  is 
in  some  places  broken,  but  generally  speaking,  very 
fertile." 

In  this  partial  description,  the  Jesuit  is  neither  con- 
sistent with  his  geographer  or  several  other  French 
authors ;  and  yet  both  his  history  and  Mr.  Bellin's 
maps,  in  1744,t  which  are  bound  up  with  it,  furnish 

*  Tlie  river  issuing  from  lake  Champlain,  is  called  Rivieres  des  Iroquois  de 
Richelieu  end  Sorel,  but  the  last  is  now  most  commoUiy  used. 

t  Mr.  Bellin  published  a  new  set  of  maps  in  1745,  the  first  plato  bein;; 
thought  too  favourable  to  our  claims,  especially  in  the  protraction  of  the  north 
side  of  the  bay  of  Fundy,  for  Nova-Scotia,  which,  in  the  second  plate,  was  called 
"the  south  part  of  Now  France."  General  Shirley,  one  of  the  British  com- 
missaries for  settling  the  disputed  limits,  took  occasion  to  speak  of  this  altera- 
tion to  Mr.  Bellin  at  Paris,  and  informed  him  that  100  copies  of  his  first  maps 

were  dispersed  in  London,  upon  which  he  discovered  some  surprise :  but  instead 
(71  rt 


226 


HISTORY    OF    NEW-YORK. 


" 


\\ 


J 

I 


-     is: 


many  strong  evidences  in  favor  of  the  British  claims. 
I  will  point  out  a  few  instances.  The  ancient  coun- 
try of  the  Hurons  is  laid  down  on  the  north  side  of 
lake  Erie,  by  which  we  are  ascertained'  of  the  extent 
of  territory  to  which  the  Five  Nations  are  entitled 
by  their  conquest  of  that  people.  The  right  of  the 
confederates  to  the  south  side  of  that  lake,  is  also 
established  by  their  dispersion  of  the  Cat  Indians, 
to  whom  it  originally  belonged.  The  land,  on  both 
sides  of  the  lake  Ontario,  is  admitted  to  be  theirs  by 
this  geographer,  who  writes  on  the  north,  "Les  Iro- 
quois du  Nord,"  and  on  the  south  side,  ♦*  Pays  des 
Iroquois."  Hennepin,  La  Hontan,  and  Delisle,  all 
concur  with  Bellin  in  extending  the  right  of  the  Five 
Nations  to  the  lands  on  the  north  side  of  lake 
Ontario.  The  first  of  these,  besides  what  appears 
from  his  map,  speaking  of  that  lake,  has  ih*-  *■  ords, 
^*  There  are  likewise  on  the  north  side  of  •■•;',  Iro- 
quois villages,  Tejajahon,  Rente,  and  Ganneousse," 
every  one  of  which  is  laid  down  even  in  Bellin's, 
and  almost  all  the  maps  I  have  seen  of  that  country, 
whether  French  or  English.  What  renders  Hen- 
nepin's account  the  more  remarkable  is,  that  these 
villages  were  there  in  1679,  seven  years  after  the 
erection  of  fort  Frontenac.  From  whence  it  may 
fairly  be  argued,  that  their  not  opposing  thoso  works, 
was  by  no  means   a  cession  of  the  country  to  the 

of  urging  any  tiling  in  support  of  the  variation  in  his  new  draft,  said,  smiling, 
*'  we  in  France  must  follow  the  command  of  the  monarch  "  I  mention  this  to 
show,  that  since  the  Frcncli  govornmcnt  interposes  in  the  construction  of  their 
maps,  they  are  proper  evidence  uirainst  them.  Among  the  English,  Dr.  MitchePs 
IS  the  only  authentic  one  extant.  None  of  the  rest,  concerning  America, 
have  passed  under  Uio  examination,  or  received  the  panction  of  any  public 
board;  and,  for  this  reason,  they  ought  not  to  be  ronstrncd  to  »  ur  prejiidict', 
Add.  that  tlu'v  q-cnrrally  copy  frcirii  llw  Fr^i\rli. 


„-„.J,,.., 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


227 


5> 


French ;  and  indeed  Charlevoix  himself  represents 
that  matter  as  carried  on  by  a  fraud,  for,  says  he, 
"Under  pretext  of  seeking  their  advantage,  the 
governor  had  nothing  in  view,  que  de  les  tenir  en 
bride" 

To  these  attestations,  which  are  the  more  to  be 
depended  upon,  because  they  are  given  by  the 
French  vi^riters,  whose  partiality  leads  them  to  con- 
fine the  Five  Nations  to  contracted  limits,*  we  may 
add,  that  our  Indians  universally  concur  in  the  claim 
of  all  the  lands  not  sold  to  the  English,  from  the 
mouth  of  Sorel  river,  on  the  south  side  of  the  lakes 
Erie  and  Ontario,  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio,  till  it 
falls  into  the  Mississippi ;  and  on  the  north  side  of 
those  lakes,  that  whole  territory  between  the  Outa- 
wais  river  and  the  lake  Huron,  and  even  beyond 
the  straits  between  that  and  lake  Erie.  This  last 
tract,  and  the  land  on  the  north  side  of  the  lakes 
Erie  and  Ontario,  were  contained  in  their  surrender 
to  king  William,  in  1701,  of  which  I  took  notice  in 
its  proper  place  :  and,  doubtless,  to  that  and  lord 
Bellomont's  contest  with  count  Frontenac,  we  must 
ascribe  it,  that  the  Five  Nations  were  afterwards  so 
particularly  taken  notice  of  in  the  treaty  of  Utrecht. 

The  British  title  to  fort  Frontenac,  and  the  lands 
on  the  north-west  side  of  Cadaraqui  river,  has  of 
late  been  drawn  into  question  by  some,  who  from 
jealousy,  or  other  motives  equally  shameful,  were 

•  Mr.  Bellin  \<ras  en^neer  of  the  marine,  and  tells  us,  that  Charlevoix  per- 
formed his  travels  in  this  country,  by  order  of  the  French  court ;  that  he  was  a 
man  of  attention  and  curiosity,  and  had  a  determined  resolution  to  collect  all 
(j  jssible  intelUgencc,  which  he  designed  to  make  public.  To  give  the  greatcir 
credit  to  the  Jesuit's  history  and  his  own  map,  he  adds,  that  Charlevoix  was 
never  without  the  instruments  proper  for  a  voyaarer,  "  ,7artout  la  boussole  a  In 
main." 


/    ; 


228 


HISTOKV   OF   NEW-iOKlv. 


■" 


1-^  !■ 


bent  upon  finding  fault  with  every  measure  planned 
by  general  Shirley.  The  advocates  for  li*."  Ti'rench 
claim  relied  much  on  a  late  m>.(j  of  the  middle 
British  colonies,  and  two  pamphlets  published  by 
Lewis  Evans. 

"The  French,  says  he,  being  in  possession  effort 
Frontenac  at  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  which  they 
attained  during  their  war  with  the  confederates, 
gives  them  an  undoubted  title  to  the  acquisition  of 
the  north-west  side  of  St.  Lawrence  river,  from 
thence  to  their  settlement  at  Montreal."  The  writer 
adds,  "  It  was  upon  the  faith  and  honour  of  king 
William's  promise  (by  the  fourth  article  of  the 
treaty  of  Ryswick)  of  not  disturbing  the  French 
king  in  the  free  possession  of  the  kingdoms,  coun- 
tries, lands,  or  dominions  he  then  enjoyed,  that  I 
said  the  French  had  an  undoubted  title  to  theif 
acquisition  of  the  north-west  side  of  St.  Lawrence 
river,  from  Frontenac  to  Montreal." 

Whether  the  treaty  ought  to  be  considered  as 
having  any  relation  to  this  matter,  is  a  question 
which  I  shall  not  take  upon  me  to  determine.  The 
map-maker  supposes  it  to  be  applicable,  and  for 
the  present  I  grant  it.  The  twelfth  article  of  this 
treaty  is  in  these  words : — "  The  most  christian 
king  shall  restore  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain  all 
countries,  islands,  forts,  ar.d  colonies,  wheresoever 
situated,  which  the  English  did  possess  before  the 
declaration  of  the  present  war.  And  in  like  man- 
ner the  king  of  Great  Britain  shall  restore  to  the 
most  christian  king,  all  countries,  islands,  forts,  and 
colonies,  wheresoever  situated,  which  the  French  did 
possess  before  the  said  declaration  of  war."     If 


I 


'*fv 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK» 


229 


)  i 


therefore  the  British  subjects  were  in  possession  of 
fort  Frontenac  at  the  commencement  of*  the  war, 
the  French,  who  attained  it  during  its  continuance, 
according  to  this  treaty,  ought  to  have  surrendered 
it  to  the  British  crown. 

Whate  ;er  the  French  title  to  fort  Frontenac  might 
have  been  antecedent  to  the  year  1688,  in  which 
the  island  of  Montreal  was  invaded  by  the  Five 
Nations,  it  is  certain  that  it  was  then  abandoned, 
and  that  the  Indians  entered  it,  and  demolished  a 
great  part  of  the  works.*  But  the  author  of  the 
map  affirms,  "  that  the  English  did  not  possess  fort 
Frontenac  before  the  declaration  of  war  terminated 
by  the  peace  of  Ryswick."  To  which  I  reply,  that 
the  Indians  acquired  a  title  in  1688,  either  by  con- 
quest or  dereliction,  or  both  ;  and  that  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain  had  a  right  to  take  advantage  of 
their  acquisition,  in  virtue  of  its  sovereignty  over 
the  Five  Cantons.  That  they  were  our  dependents, 
was  strongly  and  often  insisted  upon  by  governor 
Dongan  and  lord  Bellomont,and  the  point  remained 
stibjmlice  till  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  Then  a  deci- 
sion was  solemnly  made  in  our  favour,  which  looks 
back,  as  the  determination  of  all  disputes  do,  at  least 
as  far  as  the  first  rise  of  the  controversy;  posterior  to 
which,  and  prior  to  king  William's  war,  his  Indian 
subjects  obtained  the  possession  of  the  fort  in  ques- 
tion.f  Whence  I  think  it  may  be  fairly  deduced,  if 
we  take  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  for  our  rule,  that  fort 
Frontenac,  which  was  regained  by  the  French  during 


^,| 


*■  Le  fort  de  Catarocouy  etoit  evacuu  ct  ruiiie. — Charltvoiv. 

I  Tlie  Five  Nations  entered  the  fort  in  1688,  and  tiic  war  against  France  wn* 
not  proclaimed  till  May,  1680. 


230 


HISTORY    OP  NEW-YORK. 


their  war  with  us,  ought  to  have  been  surrendered 
to  the  British  crown.  Every  public  transaction 
oetween  the  French  and  the  Five  Nations,  without 
the  participation  of  the  government  of  Great 
BritHin,  since  the  Indians  were  claimed  as  our 
dependents,  is  perhaps  absolutely  void,  and  parti- 
cularly the  treaty  of  peace  made  between  the  Indians 
and  the  cheva!*er  De  Callieres  after  the  death  of 
count  Frontenac* 

The  possession  of  any  part  of  the  country  of  the 
Five  Nations  by  the  French,  either  before  or  since 
the  close  of  queen  Anne's  war,  cannot  prejudice  the 
British  title,  because  the  treaty  of  Aix  la  Chapelle 
renews  and  confirms  that  executed  at  Utrecht  in 
1713,  and  expressly  stipulates,  that  the  dominions 
of  the  contracting  parties  shall  be  in  the  same  con- 
dition "  which  they  ought  of  right  to  have  been  in 
before  the  late  war."  Commissaries  were  soon  after 
appointed  to  adjust  the  controverted  limits,  who 
accordingly  met  at  Paris,  and  continued  the  negotia- 


'''  Evans's  map  and  first  pamphlet,  or  analysis,  were  published  in  the  summer 
1755,  and  tliat  part  in  favour  of  the  French  claim  to  Frontenac  was  attankeH  by 
two  papers  in  the  New- York  Mercury,  in  January,  175G.  This  occasioned  his 
publication  of  the  second  pamphlet  the  next  spring,  in  which  hu  endeavours  lo 
support  liis  map.  Ho  was  a  man  in  low  circumstances,  in  his  temper  precipitute, 
of  violent  passions,  great  vanity,  and  rude  manners.  He  pretended  to  the 
knowledge  of  every  thing,  and  yet  had  very  little  learning.  By  his  inquisitive 
turn,  he  filled  his  head  with  a  considerable  collection  of  materials,  and  a  person 
of  more  judgment  than  he  had.  might,  for  a  few  days,  receive  advantages  from 
his  conversation.  He  piqued  himself  much  upon  his  two  maps,  which  are  how- 
ever, j  ustly  chargeable  with  many  errors.  His  ignorance  of  language  is  evident, 
both  in  them  and  the  two  pamphlets  of  his  analysis,  the  last  of  which  is  stuffed 
with  groundless  aspersions  on  general  Sliirley,  who  deserves  so  well  from  these 
colonies,  tliat  on  that  account,  and  to  weaken  the  authority  of  a  map  ]irejudicial 
to  his  majesty's  rights,  I  beg  the  reader's  excuse  for  this  infraction  of  the  old 
rule,  de  mortuis  nil  nisi  honum.  He  died  at  New- York,  June  19, 1 756,  under  an 
arrest  for  a  gross  slander,  uttared  against  Mr.  Morris,  the  governor  of  Penn^yl- 
»)inia. 


V\M\ 


HI8T0UY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


231 


tion  till  the  French  king  perfidiously  seized  upon 
several  parts  of  Nova-Scotia,  or  Acadia,  the  settle- 
ment of  the  bounds  of  which  was  part  of  the  very 
business  of  the  commissaries.  This  gave  rise  to  the 
present  operations,  and  the  longest  sword  will  deter- 
mine the  controversy. 

Brigadier  Hunter  was  disappointed  in  his  expec- 
tations upon  the  late  dissolution,  for  though  the  elec- 
tions were  very  hot,  and  several  new  nembers  came 
in,  yet  the  majority  were  in  the  interest  of  the  late 
assembly,  and  on  the  27th  of  May,  1713,  chose  Mr. 
Nicoll  into  the  chair.     The  governor  spoke  to  them 
with  great  plainness,  informing  them  that  it  would 
be  in  vain  to  endeavour  to  lodge  the  money  allotted 
for  the  uupportof  government,  in  any  other  than  the 
hands  of  the  queen's  officers.  "  Nevertheless,  (says 
he)  if  you  are  so  resolved,  you  may  put  the  country 
to  the  expense  of  a   treasurer,  for   the  custody   of 
money  raised  for  extraordinary  uses."     He  added, 
that  he  was  resolved  to  pass  no  law  till  provision 
was  made  for  the  government.     The  members  were 
therefore  reduced  to  the  dilemma  of  passing  a  bill 
for  that  purpose,  or  breaking  up  immediately.  They 
chose  the  former,  and  the  governor  gave  his  assent 
to  that  and  an  excise  bill  on  strong  liquors,  which 
continues  to  this  day,   producing  into  the   treasury 
about  one  thousand  pounds  per  annum.     After  a 
short  recess,  several  other  laws  were  enacted  in  the 
fall;  but  the  debts  of  the  government  still  remained 
unnoticed,  till   the  summer  of  the  year  1714.     A 
lonp  session  was  then  almost  entirely  devoted  to 
that  single  affair.     Incredible  were  the  numbers  of 
the  public  creditors  ;  new  demcnds  were  every  day 


{} 


232 


HISTORY    OP    NKW-YOUK. 


'.'.)/. 


fl 

Is 


made.  Petitions  came  in  from  all  quarters,  and 
even  tor  debts  contracted  before  the  revolution. 
Their  amount  was  nearly  twenty-eight  thousand 
pounds.  To  pay  this  prodigious  sum,  recourse  was 
had  to  the  circulation  of  bills  of  credit  to  that  value. 
These  were  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  province 
treasurer,  and  issued  by  him  only,  according  to  the 
directions  of  the  act. 

The  news  of  the  queen's  death  arriving  in  the 
ensuing  fall,  a  dissolution  ensued  of  course ;  and  a 
new  house  met  in  May,  1715,  which  continued  only 
to  the  21st  of  July ;  for  the  governor  being  now 
determined  to  subdue  those  whom  he  could  not 
allure,  again  dissolved  the  assembly.  He  succeeded 
in  his  design,  for  though  Mr.  Nicoll  was  re-elected 
into  the  chair  on  the  9th  of  June,  1716,  yet  we 
plainly  perceive  by  the  harmony  introduced  between 
the  several  branches  of  the  legislature,  that  the 
majority  of  the  house  were  now  in  the  interest  of 
the  governor 

An  incontestible  evidence  of  cheir  good  under- 
standing appeared  at  the  session  in  autumn,  1717, 
when  the  governor  informed  them  of  a  memorial 
which  had  been  sent  home,  reflecting  upon  his 
administration.  The  house  immediately  voted  an 
address  to  him,  which  was  conceived  in  terms  of  the 
utmost  respect,  testifying  their  abhorrence  of  the 
memorial  as  a  false  and  malicious  libel.  It  was 
supposed  to  be  written  by  Mulford,  a  representative 
for  Suffolk  county,  who  always  opposed  the  mea- 
sures that  were  taken  to  preserve  the  friendship  of 
the  Five  Nations,  and  foolishly  projected  a  scheme 
to  cut  them  off.     It  was  printed  in  England,  and 


HISTORY    OF   NEW- YORK. 


233 


itative 

mea- 

|hip  of 

jheme 

and 


delivered  to  the  members  at  the  door  of  the  house 
of  commons,  but  never  had  the  author's  intended 
effect. 

It  was  at  this  meeting  the  council,  on  the  3 1st  of 
October,  sent  a  message  by  Mr.  Alexander,  then 
deputy  secretary,  to  the  house,  desiring  them  "  to 
appoint  proper   persons  for  running  the  division 
line  between  this  colony  and  the  province  of  New- 
Jersey,  his  excellency  being  assured  the  legislature 
of  the  province  of  New-Jersey  will   bear  half  the 
expense  thereof."    The  assembly  had  a  bill  before 
them,  at  that  time,  which  afterwards  passed  into  a 
law,  for  the  payment  of  the  remaining  debts  of  the 
government,  amounting  to  many  thousand  pounds; 
in  which,  after  a  recital  of  the  general  reasons  for 
ascertaining  the  limits  between  New- York  and  New- 
Jersey  on  the  one   side,  and   Connecticut  on  the 
other,  a  clause  was  added  to  defray  the  expense  of 
those  services.     Seven  hundred  and  fifty  ounces  of 
plate  were  enacted  "  to  be  issued  by  warrant,  under 
the  hand  and  seal  of  the  governor  of  this  province 
for  the  time  being,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  his  majesty's  council,  in  such  parts  and  por- 
tions as  shall  be  requisite  for  that  service,  when  the 
survey,  ascertaining,  and  running  the  said  lino,  limit, 
and  boundary,  shall  be  begun,  and  carried  on,  by  the 
mutual  consent  and  agreement  of  his  excellency  and 
council  of  this  province,  and  the  proprietors  of  the 
soil  of  the  said  province  of  New-Jersey."  According 
to  this  law,  the  line  "  agreed  on  by  the  surveyors 
and  commissioners  of  each  colony  was  to  be  con- 
clusive." Another  sum  was  also  provided  by  the 
.same  clause,  for   running  the  line   between   New- 
VOL.  J. — 30 


234 


lIIflTORY    OF    NEW-YOKK. 


/    J 


York  and  Connecticut;  and  in  the  year  1719,  an  act 
was  passeil  for  the  settlement  of  that  limit,  of  which 
I  shall  have  occasion  to  take  notice  in  a  succeeding 
administration. 

Whether  it  was  because  Mr.  Nicoll  was  disgusted 
with  the  governor's  prevailing  interest  in  the  house, 
or  owing  to  his  infirm  state  of  health,  that  he  desired, 
by  a  letter  to  the  general  assembly,  on  the  18th  of 
May,  17 18,  to  be  discharged  from  the  speaker's  place, 
is  uncertain.  His  request  was  readily  granted,  and 
Robert  Livingston,  esq.  chosen  in  his  stead.  The 
concord  between  the  governor  and  this  assembly 
was  now  wound  up  to  its  highest  pitch.  Instead  of 
other  evidences  of  it,  I  shall  lay  before  the  reader  his 
last  speech  to  the  house  on  the  24th  of  June,  1719, 
and  their  address  in  answer  to  it. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  now  sent  for  you,  that  you 
may  be  witnesses  to  my  assent  to  the  acts  passed 
by  the  general  assembly  in  this  session.  I  hope 
that  what  remains  unfinished,  may  be  perfected  by 
to-morrow,  when  1  intend  to  put  a  close  to  this 
session. 

"  I  take  this  opportunity  also  to  acquaint  you, 
that  my  late  uncertain  state  of  health,  the  care  of 
my  little  family,  and  my  private  affairs  on  the  other 
side,  have  at  last  determined  me  to  make  use  of 
that  license  of  absence,  which  has  been  some  time 
ago  so  graciously  granted  me,  but  with  a  firm  reso- 
lution to  return  to  you  again,  if  it  is  his  majesty's 
pleasure  that  I  should  do  so  :  but  if  that  proves 
otherwise,  I  assure  you  that  whilst  I  live,  I  shall  be 
watchful  and  industrious  to  promote  the  interest  and 
welfare  of  this  country,  of  which  J  think  I  am  under 


V 


IIIHTUKY   UF   N£W-VOUK. 


235 


the  strongest  obligations,  for  the  future,  to  account 
myself  a  countryman. 

**  i  look  with  pleasure  on  the  present  quiet  and 
flourishing  state  of  the  people  here,  whilst  I  reflect 
on  that  in  which  I  found  them  at  my  arrival.  As 
the  very  name  of  party  or  faction  seems  to  be  for- 
gotten, may  it  forever  lie  buried  in  oblivion,  and  no 
strife  ever  happen  amongst  you,  but  that  laudable 
emulation  who  shall  approve  himself  the  most 
zealous  servant  and  most  dutiful  subject  of  the  best 
of  princes,  and  most  useful  member  of  a  well  esta- 
blished and  flourishing  community,  of  which  you, 
gentlemen,  have  given  a  happy  example,  wh'ch  I 
hope  will  be  followed  by  future  assemblies.  I  men- 
tion it  to  your  honour,  and  without  ingratitude  and 
breach  of  duty  I  could  do  no  less." 

Colonel  Morris  and  the  new  speaker  were  the 
authors  of  the  answer  to  this  speech,  though  it  was 
signed  by  all  the  members.  Whether  Mr.  Hunter 
deserved  the  eulogium  they  bestowed  upon  him,  I 
leave  \'he  reader  to  determine.  It  is  certain  that 
few  pkiitation  governors  have  the  honour  to  carry 
home  with  them  such  a  testimonial  as  this : 


4 


t€ 


Sir 


"  When  we  reflect  upon  your  past  conduct,  youf 
just,  mild,  and  tender  administration,  it  heightens 
the  concern  we  have  for  your  departure,  and  makes 
our  grief  such  as  words  cannot  truly  express.  You 
have  governed  well  and  wisely,  like  a  prudent 
magistrate,  like  an  affectionate  parent ;  and  where- 
ever  you  go,  and  whatever  station  the  divine  provi- 
dence shall  please  to  assign  you,  our  sincere  desire** 


V 


iJ36 


III8TOKY    OK    NKW-YOHK. 


1 


};■ 


^  I '' 


I 


and  prayers  for  the  happinesH  of  you  and  yourfly 
shall  always  attend  you. 

"  We  have  seen  many  governors,  and  may  see 
more ;  and  as  none  of  those  who  had  the  honour  to 
serve  in  your  station,  wore  ever  so  justly  fixed  in  the 
affections  of  the  governed,  so  those  to  come  will 
acquire  no  mean  reputation,  when  it  can  be  said  of 
them,  their  conduct  has  been  like  yours. 

"  We  thankfully  accept  the  honour  you  do  us,  in 
calling  jurself  our  countrymOii ;  give  us  leave  then 
to  desire  that  you  will  not  forget  this  as  your  coun* 
try,  and,  if  you  can,  make  haste  to  return  to  it. 

"  But  if  the  service  of  our  sovereign  will  not 
admit  of  what  we  so  earnestly  desire,  and  his  com- 
mands deny  us  tiiat  happiness,  permit  us  to  address 
you  as  our  friend,  and  give  us  your  assistance,  whey 
we  are  oppressed  with  an  administration  the  reverse 
of  yours." 

Colonel  Hunter  departing  the  province,  the  chief 
command  devolved,  the  31st  of  July,  1719,  on  Peter 
Schuyler,  esq.  then  the  eldest  member  of  the  board 
of  council.  As  he  had  no  interview  with  the  assembly 
during  his  short  administration,  in  which  he  behaved 
with  great  moderation  and  integrity,  there  is  very 
little  observable  in  his  time,  except  a  treaty  at 
Albany  with  the  Indians,  for  confirming  the  ancient 
league,  and  the  transactions  respecting  the  parti- 
tion line  between  this  and  the  colony  of  New-Jersey: 
concerning  the  latter  of  which  I  shall  now  lay 
before  the  reader  a  very  summary  account. 

The  two  provinces  were  originally  included  in  the 
grant  of  king  Charles  to  the  duke  of  York.  New- 
Jersey  was  afterwards  conveyed  by  the  duke  to  lord 


illHTOKY    OF    NKW-VOKK. 


237 


Ilerkley  and  sir  G(!orge  Carteret.      This  again,  by 
a  deed  of  partition,  wa.s  divided  into  cast  and  went 
Jersey,  the  former  being  r<. leased  to  sir  (Jeorge  Car- 
teret, and  the  lattt^r  to  the  assigns  of  lord  Berkley. 
The  line  of  division  extende«l  from  Little  Egg  har- 
bour to  the  north  partition  point  on  Delaware  river, 
and  thus  both  those  tracts  became  concerned  in  the 
limits  of  the  province  of  New-York.     The  original 
rights  of  lord  Berkley  and  sir  George  Carteret,  are 
vested  in  two  diHerent  sets,  consisting  each  of  a 
great  number  of  perHons,  known  by  the  general 
name  of  the  Proprietors  of  East  and  West  Jersey, 
who,  though  they  surrendered  the  powers  of  govern- 
ment to  queen  Anne  in  the  year  1702,  still  retained 
their  property  in  tne  soil.     These  were  the  persons 
interested  against  the    <  .im  of  New- York.     It  is 
agro«d  on  all  sidr*?,  that  the  deed  to  New-Jersey  is 
to  be  first  satisfi  -d  (  ut  of  that  great  tract  granted 
to  the  duke,  and  that  the  remainder  is  the  right  of 
New-York.     The  proprietors  insist  upon  extending 
their  northern  limits  to  ji  line  drawn  from  the  latitude 
of  41°  4'»'  on  Delaware,  to  the  latitude  of  41".  on 
Hudson's  river,  and  allege  that  before  the  year  1671, 
the  latitude  of  41°  was  reputed  to  be  fourteen  miles 
to  the  northward  of  Tappan  creek,  part  of  those 
lands  being  settled  under  New-Jersey  till  1684. 

Thfv  dso  contend  that  in  1684  or  1685,  Donsran 
and  Lawrie,  (the  former  governor  of  New- York, 
and  the  latter  of  New-Jersey,)  with  their  respective 
councils,  agreed  that  the  latitude  on  Hudson's  river 
was  at  the  mouth  of  Tappan  creek,  and  that  a  line 
from  thence  to  the  latitude  of  41**  40'  on  Delaware 
should  be  the  boundary  line.     In  1686,  Robinson, 


238 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


11.    t 


' 


\'i  ] 


1^    ''„; 


Wells,*  and  Keith,  surveyors  of  the  three  severat 
provinces,  took  two  observations,  and  found  the 
latitude  of  41°  to  be  l'  and  25"  to  the  northward  of 
the  Yonker's  mills,  which  is  four  miles  and  forty-five 
chains  to  the  southward  of  the  mouth  of  Tappan 
creek ;  but  against  these  observations  the  proprietors 
offer  sundry  objections,  which  it  is  not  my  business 
to  enumerate.  It  is  not  pretended  by  any  of  the 
litigants,  that  a  line  according  to  the  stations  settled 
by  Dongan  and  Lawrie  was  actually  run ;  so  that 
the  limits  of  these  contending  provinces  must  long 
have  existed  in  the  uncertain  conjectures  of  the 
inhabitants  of  both  ;  and  yet  the  inconveniences  of 
this  unsettled  state,  t^rough  the  infancy  of  the 
country,  were  very  inconsiderable.  In  the  year  1701, 
an  act  passed  in  New-York,  relating  to  elections, 
which  annexed  Wagachemeck,  and  great  and  little 
Minisink,  certain  settlements  near  Delaware,  to 
Ulster  county.  The  intent  of  this  law  was  to  quiet 
disputes  before  subsisting  between  the  inhabitants 
of  those  places,  whose  votes  were  required  both  in 
Orange  and  Ulster.  The  natural  conclusion  from 
hence  is,  that  the  legislature  of  New- York  then 
deemed  those  plantations  not  included  within  the 
New-Jersey  grant. 

Such  was  the  state  of  this  affair  till  the  year  1717, 
when  provision  was  made  by  this  province  for  run- 
ning the  line  :  the  same  being  done  in  New-Jersey 
the  succeeding  year,  commissions  for  that  purpose, 
imder  the  great  seals  of  the  respective  colonies,  were 
issued  in  May,  1719.  The  commissioners  by  inden-' 

*  The  same  who  left  the  quakflra,  and  took  orders  in  iho  churcii  of  En;rland. 
Burtui't  hittory  of  hit  own  times. 


M  i  % 

Itj  y 

HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


239 


ture  dated  the  25th  of  July,  fixed  the  north  station 
point  on  the  most  northern  branch  of  the  Delaware, 
called  the  Fishkill;  and  from  thence  a  random  line 
was  run  to  Hudson's  river,  terminating  about  five 
miles  to  the  northward  of  the  mouth  of  Tappan 
creek.     In   August  the  surveyors  of  East  Jersey 
met  for  fixing  the  station  on  Hudson' s  river.     All 
the  commissioners  not  attending  through  sickness, 
nothing  further  was  done.     What  had  already  been 
transacted,  however,  gave  a  general  alarm  to  many 
persons)  interested  in  several  patents  under  New- 
York,  who  before  imagined  their  rights  extended  to 
the  southward  of  the  random  line.     The  New-York 
surveyor   afterwards   declined    proceeding  in  the 
work,  complaining  of  faults  in  the  instrument  which 
had  been  used  in  fixing  the  north  station  on  Dela- 
ware.    The  proprietors,  on  the  other  hand,  think 
they  have  answered  his  objections,  and  the  matter 
rested,  without  much  contention,  till  the  year  1740. 
Frequent  quarrels  multiplying  after  that  period,  re- 
lating to  the  rights  of  soil  and  jurisdiction  southward 
of  the  line  in  1719,  a  probationary  act  was  passed 
in  New-Jersey,  in  February,  1748,  for  running  the 
line  ex  parte,  if  the  province  of  New- York  re- 
fused to  join  in  the  work.      Our  assembly   soon 
after  directed  their   agent  to    oppose  the   king's 
confirmation  of  that  act,  and  it  was  accordingly 
dropped,  agreeable  to  the  advice   of  the  lords  of 
trade,  whose  report  of  the  18th  of  July,  1753,  on  a 
matter  of  so  much  importance,  will  doubtless  be 
acceptable  to  the  reader. 

"  To  the  king's  most  excellent  majesty  : 
^*  May  it  please   your  majesty :  We  have  lately 


I    iS 


i 


i 


240 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YOKK. 


had  under  our  consideration  an  uct  passed  in  your 
majesty's  province  of  New- Jersey,  in  1747-8,  enti- 
tled, "An  act  for  running  and  ascertaining  the  line 
of  partition  and  division  betvirixt  this  province  of 
New-Jersey,  and  the  province  of  New-York." 

"And  having  been  attended  by  Mr.  Paris,  solici- 
tor in  behalf  of  the  proprietors  of  the  eastern 
division  of  New-Jersey,  with  Mr.  Hume  Campbell 
and  Mr.  Henley,  his  counsel  in  support  of  the  said 
act ;  and  by  Mr.  Charles,  agent  for  the  province  of 
New- York,  with  Mr.  Forrester  and  Mr.  Pratt,  his 
counsel  against  the  said  act ;  and  heard  what  each 
party  had  to  offer  thereupon  ;  we  beg  leave  humbly 
to  represent  to  your  majesty,  that  the  considerations 
w'lich  arise  upon  this  act  are  of  two  sorts,  viz.  such 
as  relate  *o  the  principles  upon  which  it  is  founded, 
and  such  as  relate  to  the  transactions  and  circum- 
stances 77hich  accompany  it. 

"As  to  the  first,  it  is  an'  act  of  the  province  of 
New-Jersey,  interested  in  the  determination  of  the 
limits,  and  in  the  consequential  advantages  to  arise 
from  it. 

"  The  province  of  New-Jersey,  in  its  distinct  and 
separate  capacity,  can  neither  make  nor  establish 
boundaries  ;  it  can  as  little  prescribe  regulations  for 
deciding  differences  between  itself  and  other  par- 
ties concerned  in  interest. 

"  The  established  limits  of  its  jurisdiction  and 
territory,  are  such  as  the  grants  under  which  it  claims 
have  assigned.  If  those  grants  are  doubtful,  and 
differences  arise  upon  the  constructions,  or  upon  the 
matters  of  them,  we  humbly  apprehend  that  there 
are  but  two  methods  of  deciding  them — either  by 


i 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


241 


the  concurrence  of  all  parties  concerned  in  interest, 
or  by  the  regular  and  legal  forms  of  judicial  pro- 
ceedings :  and  it  appears  to  us,  that  the  method  of 
proceeding  must  be  derived  from  the  immediate 
authority  of  the  crown  itself,  signified  by  a  commis' 
sion  from  your  majesty  under  the  great  seal :  the 
commission  of  subordinate  officers  and  of  derivative 
powers,  being  neither  competent  nor  adequate  to 
such  purposes:  to  judge  otherwise  would  be,  as  wc 
humbly  conceive,  to  set  up  ex  parte  determinations 
and  incompetent  jurisdictions  in  the  place  of  justice 
and  legal  authority. 

"  If  the  act  of  iVew-Jersey  cannot  include  other 
parties,  it  cannot  be  effectual  to  the  ends  proposed ; 
and  that  it  would  not  be  effectual  to  form  an  absolute 
decision  in  this  case,  the  legislature  of  that  province 
seems  sensible,  whilst  it  endeavors  to  leave  to  your 
majesty's  determination,  the  decision  of  one  point  re- 
lative to  this  matter,  and  of  considerable  importance 
to  it;  which  power  you  rmajesty  cannot  derive  from 
them,  without  their  having  the  power  to  establish  the 
thing  itself,  without  the  assistance  of  your  majesty. 

"As  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  present  act,  with- 
out the  concurrence  of  other  parties  concerned  in 
interest,  is  unwarrantable  and  inefiectunl,  we  shall 
in  the  next  place  consider  whet  transactions  and 
proceedings  have  passed  towuiJs  obtaining  such 
concurrence. 

**  The  parties  interested  are  your  majesty  and  the 
two  provinces  of  New- York  and  New-Jersey.  Your 
majesty  is  interested  with  respect  tc  your  sovereignty, 
seigneurie,  and  property ;  and  the  said  provinces 
with  respect  to  their  government  and  jurisdiction. 

VOT.,  T.— 81 


\\\ 


■  i\ 


)i 


*«e!yifc*«i»«-  -wr:  — ■ 


.^•oaMMB 


w 


' 


I 


n 


Ui 


r»v  (*   '   I 


ii42 


HISTOUY    01<'  Ni:W-¥OKK. 


"  With  regard  to  the  transactions  on  the  part  of 
New- York,  we  heg  leave  to  observe,  that  whatever 
agreements  have  been  made  formerly  between  the 
two  provinces  for  settling  their  boundaries ;  what- 
ever acts  of  assembly  have  passed,  and  whatever 
commissions  have  been  issued  by  the  respective 
governors  and  governments  ;  the  proceedings  under 
them  have  never  been  perfected,  the  work  remains 
unfinished,  and  the  disputes  between  the  two  pro- 
vinces subsist  with  as  much  contradiction  as  ever; 
but  there  is  a  circumstance  that  appears  to  us  to  have 
still  more  weight,  namely,  that  those  transactions 
were  never  properly  warranted  on  the  part  of  the 
crown ;  the  crown  never  participated  in  them,  and 
therefore  cannot  be  bound  with  respect  to  its  interests 
by  proceedings  so  authorized. 

"The  interest  which  your  majesty  has  in  the 
determination  of  this  boundary,  may  be  considered 

in  three  lights :  either  as  interests  of  sovereignty, 
respecting  mere  government ;  of  seigneurie,  which 
respect  escheats  and  quitrents;  or  of  property,  as 
relative  to  the  soil  itself;  which  last  interest  takes 
place  in  such  cases,  where  either  your  majesty  has 
never  made  any  grants  of  the  soil,  or  where  such 
grants  have  by  escheats  reverted  to  your  majesty. 

"  With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  interests,  viz. 
that  of  sovereignty,  it  has  been  alleged  to  us  in 
support  of  the  act,  that  it  is  not  materially  affected 
by  the  question,  as  both  provinces  are  under  your 
majesty's  immediate  direction  and  government:  but 
they  stand  in  a  very  different  light  with  respect  to 
your  majesty's  interest  in  the  quitrents  and  escheats ; 
in  both  which  articles  the  situation  of  the  two  pro- 
vinces appears  to  us  to  make  a  very  material  altera- 


■  •-.;• 


HISTORY   OF   JNEW-YOKK. 


243 


tion:  tor  although  the  province  of  New- Jersey  is  not 
under  regulations  of  propriety  or  charter  with  res- 
pect to  its  government,  yet  it  is  a  proprietary  province 
with  respect  to  the  grant  and  tenure  of  its  territory, 
and  consequently  as  Ne\  -York  is  not  in  that  pre- 
dicament; the  determination  of  the  boundary  in 
prejudice  tu  that  province,  will  affect  your  majesty's 
interest  with  respect  to  the  tenure  of  such  lands  as 
are  concerned  in  this  question :  it  being  evident, 
that  whatever  districts  are  supposed  to  be  included 
in  the  limits  of  New-Jersey,  will  immediately  pass 
to  the  proprietors  of  that  province,  and  be  held  of 
them,  by  which  means  your  majesty  would  be 
deprived  of  your  escheats,  and  the  quitrents  would 
pass  into  other  hands. 

"  To  obviate  this  objection,  it  has  been  alleged 
that  the  crown  has  already  made  absolute  grants  of 
the  whole  territory  that  can  possibly  come  in  ques- 
tion under  the  denomination  of  this  boundary,  and 
reserved  only  trifling  and  inconsiderable  quitrents 
on  those  grants  :  but  this  argument  does  not  seem 
to  us  to  be  conclusive,  siilce  it  admits  an  interest  in 
your  majesty,  the  greatness  or  smallness  of  which  is 
merely  accidental ;  and  therefore  does  not  affect 
the  essence  of  the  question :  end  we  beg  leave  to 
observe,  that  in  the  case  of  exorbitant  grants  with 
inconsiderable  quitrents ;  and  where  consequently 
it  may  reasowibly  be  supposed,  that  the  crown  has 
been  deceived  in  such  grants  by  its  officers ;  your 
majesty's  contingent  right  of  property  in  virtue  of 
your  seigncurie,  seems  rather  to  be  enlarged  than 
diminis!^ed. 

"  Thi.^  being  the  case,  *    rppcars  lo  us  vliat  gover- 
nor Hunter  ouirht  not  to  have  issued  his  com»nis' 


Wa 


»U  .»-■»- ■'**-A-y«t^..i,^-'-    -— ^ 


244 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


mi 


5 


sion  for  running  the  line  above  mentioned,  without 
having  previously  received  the  royal  direction  and 
instruction  fbr  that  purpose ;  and  that  a  commission 
issued  withoii*  '?ncb  !iuthority,  can  be  considered, 
with  respect  i>i  the  inieres*?  of  the  crown,  in  no 
other  light  r imp  n-i  a  ntere  rallity:  and  even  with 
respect  to  N<5w-York,  we  oi*?  ;  ve  that  the  said  com- 
missicii  is  qucstionabla,  as  t'.  does  not  follow  the 
directiojis  of  t'le  above-mentioned  act,  passed  in 
1717,  which  declares,  that  the  commission  to  be 
isauod,  shall  be  granted  u  det  the  joint  authority  of 
the  governor  and  councii  of  that  province. 

"  Br^t  k  has  been  .  ther  urged  that  the  crown  has 
since  confirmed  lihese  transactions,  either  by  pre- 
vious declarations  or  by  subsequent  acquiescence, 
and  consequently  participated  in  them  so  far  as 
to  include  itself:  we  shall  therefore,  in  the  next 
place,  beg  leave  to  consider  the  circumstances  urged 
for  this  purpose. 

"  It  has  been  alleged  that  the  crown,  by  giving 
consent  to  the  aforesaid  act,  passed  in  New- York  in 
1717,  for  paying  and  discharging  several  debts  due 
from  that  colony,  &.c.  concluded  and  bound  itself 
with  respect  to  the  subsequent  proceedings  had 
under  the  commission  issued  by  governor  Hunter ; 
but  the  view  and  purpo  i  <f  that  act  appear  to  us 
so  entire,  and  so  distinctly  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  money  and  establishing  funds ;  so  various 
and  so  distinct  from  aiiy  consideration  of  the  dis- 
putes subsisting  in  the  two  provinces,  with  respect 
to  the  boundaries ;  that  we  cannot  conceive  a  single 
clause  in  so  long  and  so  intricate  an  act,  €«»>  be  a 
sufficient  r  jdation  to  warrant  f?se  prr>  jdmgs  of 
!?overnor  ,'       ler  subsequent  to  it,  witlumt  a  special 


UI8TORY   OP  NEW- YORK. 


245 


fi^'/Jiority  from  the  crown  for  that  purpose ;  and 
there  is  *he  more  reason  to  be  of  this  opinion,  as  the 
crown,  by  giving  its  assent  to  that  act,  can  be  con- 
strued to  have  assented  only  to  the  levying  money 
for  a  future  purpose;  which  purpose  could  not  be 
effected  by  any  commission  but  from  itself;  and, 
therefore,  can  never  be  supposed  to  have  thereby 
approved  a  commission  from  another  authority, 
which  was  at  that  time  already  issued,  and  carrying 
in  execution,  previous  to  such  assent. 

**  We  further  beg  leave  humbly  to  represent  to 
your  majesty,  that  the  line  of  partition  and  division 
between  your  majesty's  province  of  New- York  and 
colony  of  Connecticut,  having  been  run  and  ascer- 
tained, pursuant  to  the  directions  of  an  act  passed 
at  New- York  for  that  purpose,  in  the  year  1719,  and 
confirmed  by  his  late  majesty  in  1723;  the  transac- 
tions between  the  said  province  and  colony,  upon 
liiat  occasion,  have  been  alleged  to  be  similar  to,  and 
urged  as  a  precedent,  and  even  as  an  approbation 
of  the  matter  now  in  question :  but  we  are  humbly 
of  opinion  that  the  two  cases  are  materially  and 
essentially  different.  The  act  passed  in  New- York, 
in  1719,  for  running  and  ascertaining  the  lines  of 
partition  and  division  between  that  colony  and  the 
colony  of  Connecticut,  recites,  that  in  the  year  1683, 
the  governor  and  council  of  New- York,  and  the 
governor  and  commissioners  of  Connecticut,  did, 
in  council,  conclude  an  agreement  concerning  the 
boundaries  of  the  two  provinces;  that,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  agreement,  commissioners  and 
surveyors  were  appointed  on  the  part  of  each  go- 
vernment, who  did  actually  agren,  determine,  and 
ascertain,  the  linos  of  partition  ;  marked  out  a  certain 


m' 


TT 


^46 


HISTORY  OP   NEW-YORK. 


m 


}  I  •-! 


h 


part  of  thein,  and  fixed  the  point  from  whence  the 
remaining  part  should  be  run :  that  the  several  things 
agreed  on  and  done  by  the  said  commissioners 
were  ratified  by  the  respective  governors  ;  entered 
on  record  in  each  colony,  in  March  1700  ;  approved 
and  confirmed  by  order  of  king  William,  the  third, 
in  his  privy  council ;  and  by  his  said  majesty's  letter 
to  his  governor  of  New- York.  From  this  recital  it 
appears  to  us,  that  those  transactions  were  not  only 
carried  on  with  the  participation,  but  confirmed  by 
the  express  act  and  authority  of  the  crown ;  and  that 
confirmation  made  the  foundation  of  the  act  passed 
by  New- York,  for  settling  the  boundaries  betv/een 
the  two  provinces ;  of  all  which  authority  and  foun- 
dation ine  act  we  now  lay  before  your  majesty 
appears  to  us  to  be  entirely  destitute. 

''Upon  the  whole,  as  it  appears  to  us  that  the  act 
in  question  cannot  be  effectual  to  the  ends  proposed; 
that  your  majesty's  interest  maybe  materially  affected 
by  it|  and  that  the  proceedings  on  which  it  is  founded 
were  not  warranted  in  the  first  instance  by  the 
proper  authority,  but  carried  on  without  the  partici- 
pation of  the  crown ;  we  cannot  think  it  advisable 
to  lay  this  act  before  your  jnajesty,  as  fit  to  receive 
your  royal  apprbation. 

"  Which  is  most  humbly  submitted, 

"  Dunk  Halifax, 
"J.  Grenville, 
"  James  Oswald, 
"Andrew  Stone. 

"  Whitehall,  .July  1«,  1753."      , 


'ff-i, 


I 
■I 


■r'UVttli^Mi'. 


---*-  y?i.».»..^>«   -  4 


■Jt.. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


PARI  V. 


FROM  THE  YEAR  n90  TO  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE 
ADMINISTRATION   OF   COLONEL   COSBY. 


■*    r 


William  Burnet,  esq.  took  upon  him  the  govern- 
ment of  this  province,  on  the  17th  of  Septembcri 
1720.  The  council  named  in  his  instructions  were 


Col.  Schuyler, 
Col.  Depeyster, 
Capt.  Walter, 
Col.  Beekman, 
Mr.  Van  Dam, 
Col.  Heathcote, 

Mr.  Burnet  was  a  sol 


Mr.  Barbarie, 
Mr.  Philipse, 
Mr.  Byerly, 
Mr.  Clarke, 
Dr.  Johnston, 
Mr.  Hari^on. 

the  celebrated  bishop 


of  that  name,  whose  piety  and  erudition,  but  espe- 
cially his  zeal  and  activity  for  the  glorious  revolution 
and  protestant  succession,  will  embalm  his  memory 
to  the  most  distant  ages.  The  governor  was  a  man 
of  sense  and  polite  breeding,  a  well  read  scholar, 
sprightly,  and  of  a  social  disposition.  Being  devoted 
to  his  books,  he  ab  d  from  all  those  excesses 

into  which  his  pleasurable  relish  would  otherwise 
have  plunged  him.  He  studied  the  arts  of  recom- 
mending himself  to  the  people,  had  nothing  of  the 


I 


Lrn- 


saff* 


diy 


248 


HISTORY   01'   NEW-YOUK. 


hi 


r  i 


V 


I 


f  I 


moroseness  of  a  scholar,  was  gay  and  condescending, 
affected  no  pomp,  but  visited  every  family  of  repu- 
tation, and  often  diverted  himself  in  free  converse 
with  the  ladies,  by  whom  he  was  very  much  adm.  .ed. 
No  governor  before  him,  did  so  much  business  in 
chancery.  The  office  of  chancellor  was  his  delight. 
He  made  a  tolerable  figure  in  the  exercise  of  it, 
though  he  was  no  lawyer,  ind  had  a  foible  very 
unsuitable  for  a  judge,  1  mean  his  resolving  too 
speedily,  for  he  used  to  say  of  himself,  "  I  act  first 
Ui»ii  think  afterwards."  Ho  spoke  however  always 
sensibly,  and  by  his  great  rending  was  able  to  make 
a  literary  parade. — As  to  his  fortune  it  was  very 
inconsiderable,  for  he  suffered  much  in  the  South 
Sea  scheme.  While  in  England,  he  had  the  office 
of  comptroller  of  the  customs  at  London,  which  he 
resigned  to  brigadier  Hunter,  as  he  latter,  in  his 
favour,  did  the  government  of  this  and  the  colony 
of  New-Jersey  Mr.  Burnet's  acquaintance  with 
that  gentleman  r  '*'e  him  a  fiie  '>pportunity,  before 
liis  arrival,  to  obtain  good  lutelli';  nee  both  i  per- 
sons and  things.  The  brigadier  >.  .'commended  all 
his  old  friends  to  the  favour  of  his  •  accessor,  and 
hence  we  find  that  he  made  few  changes  amongst 
them.*  Mr  Morris,  the  chief  justice  as  his 
principal  confidant:  Dr.  Golden  and  Mr.  Alexander, 
two  Scotch  gentlemen,  had  the  next  place  in  his 
esteem.  He  showed  his  wisdom  in  that  clioice,  for 
they  Vi  3re  both  men  of  learning,  good  morals,  and 
solid  parts.     The  former  was  well  acquainted  with 

*  Colon^  Schuyler  and  Mr.  Philipse  wore,  indeed,  rRmoved  from  tho  council 
boatJ,  by  liiti  roprcsentnlions ;  and  tlicir  opposing,  in  council,  tho  continuance  of 
tlie  amemblv.  after  hii  arrival,  was  the  cause  of  it. 


•I 

■i 


^r-.4f 


IIIUTOIIY   OF    INliVV-YOUK. 


249 


the  affairs  of  the  province,  and  particularly  those 
which  concerned  the  French  in  Canada  and  our 
Indian  allies.  The  latter  was  bred  to  the  law,  and, 
though  no  speaker,  at  the  head  of  his  profession 
for  sagacity  and  penetration ;  and  in  application  to 
business  no  man  could  surpass  him.  Nor  was  he 
unacquainted  with  the  affairs  of  the  public,  having 
served  in  the  secretary's  office,  the  best  school  in  the 
province  for  instruction  in  matters  of  government; 
because  the  secretary  enjoys  a  plurality  of  offices, 
conversant  with  the  first  springs  of  our  provincial 
economy.  Both  those  gentlemen  Mr.  Burnet  soon 
raised  to  the  council  board,  as  he  also  did  Mr. 
Morris,  jun.  Mr.  Van  Horn,  whose  daughter  he 
married,  and  Mr.  Kennedy,  who  «ucceeded  Byerly 
both  at  the  council  board,  and  in  the  office  of 
receiver-general.  •,..., 

Of  all  our  governors,  none  had  such  extensive  and 
just  views  of  our  Indian  affairs,  and  the  dangerous 
neighborhood  of  the  French,  as  governor  Burnet,  in 
which  Mr.  Livingston  was  his  principal  assistant. 
His  attention  to  these  matters  appeared  at  the  very 
commencement  of  his  administration,  for  in  his  first 
speech  to  the  assembly,  the  very  fall  after  his  arrival, 
he  laboured  to  implant  the  sanie  sentiments  in 
the  breasts  of  the  members ;  endeavoring  to  alarm 
their  fears  by  the  daily  advances  of  the  French, 
their  possessing  the  main  passes,  seducing  our 
Indian  allies,  and  increasing  their  new  settlements 
in  Louisiana. 

Chief  justice  Morris,  whose  influence  was  very 
great  in  the  house,  drew  tiie  address  in  answer  to 
the  governor's  speech,  which  contained  a  passage 
VOL.  I.— 32 


ill 


250 


UlftTORY   OK   NEW-YOllK. 


i      I 


•if' 


manifeflting  thf'  > mifidence  they  reposed  in  him. 
**  We  believe  thi.<.  the  son  of  that  worthy  prelate,  ao 
eminently  instrumental  under  our  glorious  monarch* 
William  the  third,  in  delivering  us  from  arbitrary 
power,  and  its  concomitants,  popery,  superstition, 
and  slavery,  has  been  educated  in,  and  possesses, 
those  principles  that  so  justly  recommended  his 
father  to  the  council  and  confidence  of  protestant 
princes,  and  succeeds  our  former  governor,  not 
only  in  power,  but  inclination  to  do  us  good." 

From  an  assembly  impressed  with  such  favour- 
able sentiments,  his  excellency  had  the  highest 
reason  to  expect  a  submissive  compliance  with 
every  thing  recommended  to  their  notice.  The 
public  business  proceeded  without  suspicion  or 
jealousy,  and  nothing  intervened  to  disturb  the 
tranquillity  of  the  political  state.  Among  the  most 
remarkable  acts  passed  at  this  session,  we  may 
reckon  that  for  a  fivo  years'  support ;  another  for 
laying  a  duty  of  two  per  cent,  prime  cost,  on  the 
importation  of  European  goods,  which  was  soon 
after  repealed  by  the  king ;  and  a  third,  for  pro- 
hibiting the  sale  of  Indian  goods  to  the  French. 
The  last  of  these  was  a  favorite  act  of  the  gover- 
nor's ;  and  though  a  law  very  advantageous  to  the 
province,  became  the  source  of  an  unreasonable 
opposition  against  him,  which  continued  through 
bis  whole  administration.  From  the  conclusion  of 
the  peace  of  Utrecht,  a  great  trade  was  carried  on 
between  Albany  and  Canada,  for  goods  saleable 
among  the  Indians.  The  chiefs  of  the  confederates 
wisely  foresaw  its  ill  consequences,  and  complained 


I 


"."Vif^^  -    -*r**».  - 


illSTOliy   OV   MKW-YOllk. 


251 


of  it  to  the  commissioiicra  of  Indian  af'^i "  \*  who 
wrote   to   Mr.  Hunter,  acquainting    hi  ;>   ok'   their 
dissatisfaction.     The    letter    was  laid  Lotbre  the 
house,  but  uo  effectual  step  taken  to  prevent  the 
mischief,  till  the  passing  of  this  act,  which  subjected 
the  traders  to  a  forfeiture  of  the  effects  sold,  and 
the  penalty  of  £100.   Mr.  Burnet's  scheme  was  to 
draw  the  Indian  trade  into  our   own   hands ;  to 
obstruct  the  communication  of  the  French  with  our 
allies,  which  gave  them  frequent  opportunities  of 
seducing  them  from  their  fidelity  :  and  to  regain 
the  Caghnuagas,  who  became  interested  in  their 
disaffection,  by  being  the  carriers  between  Albany 
and   Montreal.      Among  those   who   were    more 
immediately  prejudiced  by  this  new  regulation,  the 
importers  of  those  goods  from  Europe  were  the 
chief;  and  hence  the  spring  of  their  opposition  to 
the  governor. 

All  possible  arts  were  used,  both  here  and  at 
home,  to  preserve  the  good  temper  of  the  assembly. 
Brigadier  Hunter  gave  the  ministry  such  favorable 

'*'  Tho  governors  residing  at  New- York,  rendered  it  necessary  that  some  per- 
■OBs  should  bo  commiBsioncd  at  Albany,  to  receive  intelligence  from  the  Indians 
and  treat  with  tliom  upon  emergencies.  This  gave  rise  to  Uie  office  of  commis- 
sioners of  Indian  affairs,  who  in  general  transact  all  such  matters  as  might  be 
done  by  tite  governor.  They  receive  no  salaries,  but  considerable  sums  are 
depwdtod  in  their  hands  for  occasional  presents.  There  are  regular  minutes  of 
their  transactions  from  the  year  1675.  These  were  in  separate  quires,  till  Mr. 
Alexander,  who  borrowed  them  for  his  perusal  in  1761,  had  them  bound  up  in 
four  laige  volumes  in  folio.  Here  all  our  Indian  treaties  are  entered.  The  books 
are  kept  by  a  secretary  commissioned  in  England,  whose  appointment  is  an 
annual  salary  of  lOOl,  proclamation  out  of  the  quit-rents.  The  commandant  at 
Oswego  is  generally  a  commissioner.  The  office  would  probably  have  been 
more  advantageous  than  it  has  been,  if  the  commissioners  were  not  traden 
themselves,  than  which  nothing  is  more  ignoble  in  the  judgment  of  the  Indians 
Sir  William  Johnson  is  at  present  the  sole  commissioner,  and  within  nine  months 
after  th*  arrival  of  general  Braddock,  rcceitred  10,000/.  sterling,  to  secure  the 
Indian  itercst. 


■I  I 


252 


HISTORY   OF  NEW- YORK. 


accounts  of  the  members,  that  colonel  Schuyler, 
during  his  presidentship,  had  orders  from  Mr. 
secretary  Craggs,  neither  to  dissolve  them  himself, 
nor  permit  them  to  be  dissolved  ;  and  at  the  spring 
session,  in  the  year  1721^  M'v  Burnet  informed  them 
that  his  continuance  of  them  was  highly  approved 
at  home.  Horatio  Walpole,  the  auditor-general, 
who  had  appointed  Mr.  Clarke  for  his  deputy, 
thought  this  a  favourable  conjuncture  for  procuring 
five  per  cent,  out  of  the  treasury.  But  the  house 
were  averse  to  his  application,  and,  on  the  2d  of 
.Tune,  Abraham  Bepeyster,  jun.  was  appointed  trea- 
surer by  the  speaker's  warrant,  with  the  consent  of 
the  governor,  in  the  room  of  his  father,  who  was 
infirm ;  upon  which  he  entered  into  a  recognizance 
of  £5000  to  the  king,  before  a  judge  of  the  supreme 
court,  for  the  faithful  execution  of  his  trust,  which 
was  lodged  in  the  secretary's  office.  The  hous-.i,  at 
the  same  time,  in  an  address,  declared  their  willing- 
ness that  the  treasurer  should  account ;  but  utterly 
refused  to  admit  of  any  drafts  upon  the  treasury 
for  the  auditor-general,  who  was  constrained  to 
depend  entirely  upon  the  revenue,  out  of  which  he 
received  about  £200  per  anmmi. 

Mr.  Burnet  being  well  acquainted  with  the  geo- 
graphy of  the  country,  wisely  concluded  that  it  was 
to  the  last  degree  necessary  to  get  the  command  of 
the  great  lake  Ontario,  as  well  for  the  benefit  of  the 
trade,  and  the  security  of  the  friendship  of  the  Five 
Nations,  as  to  frustrate  the  French  designs,  of 
confining  the  English  colonies  to  narrow  limits 
along  the  sea  coast,  by  a  chain  of  forts  on  the  great 
passes  from  Canada  to  Louisiana.    Towards  the 


f.*- 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


253 


subversion  of  this  scheme,  he  began  the  erection  of 
a  trading  house  at  Oswego,  in  the  county  of  the 
Senecas,  in  1722;  and  recommended  a  provision  for 
the  residence  of  trusty  persona  among  them  and 
the  Onondagas,  which  last  possess  the  centre  of  the 
Five  Cantons.     This  year  was  remarkable  for  a 
congress  of  several  governors  and  commissioners, 
on  the  renewal  of  the  ancient  friendship  with  the 
Indians   at    Albany.     Mr.    Burnet  prevailed  upon 
them  to  send  a  message,  to  threaten  the  eastern 
Indians  with  a  war,  unless  they  concluded  a  peace 
with  the  English,  who  were  very  much  harassed  by 
their  frequent  irruptions.  On  the  20th  of  May,  in  the 
year  following,  the  confederates  were   augmented 
by  their  reception  of  above  80  Nicariagas,  besides 
women  and  children,  as  they  had  been  formerly  by 
the  addition  of  the  Tuscaroras.  The  country  of  the 
Nicariagas  was  on  the  north  side  of  Missilimaki- 
nack;  but  the  Tuscaroras  possessed  a  tract  of  land 
near  the  sources  of  James's  river,  in  Virginia,  from 
whence  the  encroachments  of  the  English  induced 
them  to  remove,  and  settle  near  the  south-east  end 
of  the  Oneida  lake. 

The  strict  union  subsisting  between  the  several 
branches  of  the  legislature,  gave  a  handle  to  Mr. 
Burnet's  enemies  to  excite  a  clamour  against  him. 
Jealousies  were  industriously  sown  in  the  breasts  of 
the  people.  The  continuance  of  an  assembly  after 
the  accession  of  a  new  governor,  was  represented  as 
an  anti-constitutional  project ;  and  though  the  affairs 
of  the  public  were  conducted  with  wisdom  and 
spirit,  many  were  so  much  imposed  upon,  that  a 
rupture  between  the  governor  and  the  assembly  was 


*      I 


Ul 


264 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-TORK. 


M., 


^-/ 


I 


it      t . 


thought  to  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  weal  and 
safety  of  the  Cv*inmunity.  But  this  was  not  the  only 
stratagem  of  those  who  were  disaffected  by  the 
prohibition  of  the  French  trade.  The  London 
merchants  were  induced  to  petition  the  king  for  an 
order  to  his  governor,  prohibiting  the  revival  of  the 
act  made  against  it,  or  the  passing  any  new  law  of 
that  tendency.  The  petition  was  referred  to  the 
board  of  trade,  and  backed  before  their  lordships 
with  suggestions  of  the  most  notorious  falsehoods. 
The  lords  of  trade  prudently  advised  that  no  such 
directions  should  be  sent  to  Mr.  Burnet^  till  he  had 
an  opportunity  of  answering  the  objections  against 
the  act.  They  were  accordingly  sent  over  to  him, 
and  he  laid  them  before  his  council  Dr.  Golden 
and  Mr.  Alexander  exerted  themselves  in  a  memo^ 
rable  report  in  answer  to  them,  which  drew  upon 
them  the  resentment  of  several  merchants  here,  who 
had  first  excited  the  London  petition,  and  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  variance  between  their  families, 
\vhich  has  manifested  itself  on  many  occasions.  In 
justice  to  Mr.  Burnet's  ntomory,  and  to  show  the 
propriety  of  his  measures  for  obstructing  the  French 
trade,  I  cannot  refrain  the  republication  of  the 
council's  report  at  full  length. 

*'  May  it  please  your  Excellency, 
"  In  obedience  to  your  excellency's  commands,  in 
council,  the  29th  of  October,  referring  to  us  a  peti- 
tion of  several  merchant  i  in  London,  presented  to 
the  king's  most  excellent  iiiajesty,  against  renewing 
an  act  passed  in  this  province,  entided,  'An  act  for  the 
encouragement  of  the  Indian  trade,  and  rendering 


.  »tttf  .Wfc^Jr-— ^ 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


255 


it  more  effectual  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  province, 
and  for  prohibiting  the  selling  of  Indian  goods  to 
the  French.*  As  likewise  the  several  allegations 
of  the  said  merchants  before  the  right  honourable 
the  lords  of  trade  and  plantations,  we  beg  leave  to 
make  the  following  remarks. 

"  In  order  to  make  our  observations  the  more 
distinct  and  clear,  we  shall  gather  together  the 
several  assertions  of  the  said  merchants,  both  in 
their  petition,  and  delivered  verbally  before  the 
lords  of  trade,  as  to  the  situation  of  this  province, 
with  respect  to  the  French  and  Indian  nations ;  and 
observe  on  them,  in  the  first  place,  they  being  the 
foundation  on  which  all  their  other  allegations  are 
grounded.  Afterwards  we  shall  lay  before  your 
excellency,  what  we  think  necessary  to  observe  on 
the  othe?  parts  of  the  said  petition,  in  the  order 
they  are  in  the  petition,  or  in  the  report  of  the  lords 
of  trade. 

"In  their  geographical  accounts  they  say,  *  Besides 
the  nations  of  Indians  that  are  in  the  English 
interest,  there  are  very  many  nations  of  Indians, 
who  are  at  present  in  the  interest  of  the  French, 
and  who  lie  between  New- York  and  the  nations  of 
Indians  in  the  English  interest. — The  French  and 
their  Indians  would  not  permit  the  English  Indians 
to  pass  over  by  their  forts.'  The  said  act  *  restrains 
tht?m  (the  Fi\e  Nations)  from  a  free  commerce  with 
the  inhabitants  of  New- York. 

"  *  The  five  Indian  nations  are  settled  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  directly  opposite 
to  Quebec,  two  or  three  hundred  leagues  distant 
from  the  nearest  British  settlements  in  New- York. 


1 


IS 


!l 


I 


* 


I'  I 

II,      'i\ 


I 


1 


256 


HISTOKY    OF   NEW-YORK. 


^i 


/'I 


i: 


.'  "  *  They  (the  five  nations  of  Indians)  were  two  or 
three  hundred  leagues  distant  from  Albany;  and 
that  they  could  not  come  to  trade  with  the  English, 
but  by  going  down  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  and  from 
thence  through  a  lake,  which  brought  them  within 
eighteen  leagues  of  Albany.' 

"  These  things  the  merchants  have  thought  it  safe 
for  them,  and  consistent  with  their  duty  to  his 
sacred  majesty,  to  say  in  his  majesty's  presence,  and 
to  repeat  them  afterwards  before  the  right  honorable 
the  iords  of  trade,  though  nothing  can  be  more 
directly  contrary  to  the  truth.  For  there  are  no 
nationfi  of  Indians  between  New- York  and  the 
naticciS  of  Indians  in  the  English  interest,  who  are 
iiow  six  in  number,  by  the  addition  of  the  Tusca- 
roras.  The  Mowhawks  (called  Annies*  by  the 
French)  one  of  the  Five  Nations,  live  on  the  south 
side  of  a  branch  of  Hudson's  river,  (not  on  the  north 
side  as  they  are  placed  in  the  French  maps)  and 
but  forty  miles  directly  west  of  Albany,  and  wi;'hin 
the  English  settlements ;  some  of  the  iTnglish  farms 
upon  the  same  river,  being  thirty  miles  further  west. 
The  Oneidas  (the  next  of  the  Five  Nations)  lie 
likewise  west  from  Albany,  near  the  head  of  the 
Mohawks'  river,  about  one  hundred  miles  from 
Albanv.  The  Onondagas  lie  about  cue  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  west  from  Albany  ;  and  the  Tuscaroras 
live  partly  with  the  Oneidas  and  partly  with  the 
Onondagas.  The  Cayugas  are  about  one  hundred 
and  sixty  miles  from  Albany ;  and  the  Senecas  (the 
furthest  of  all  these  nations)  are  not  above  two 
hundred  and  forty  miles  from  Albany,  as  may  appear 

*  AffiiicR. 


vv 


HISTORY   OF   NJiW-YOUK. 


257 


from  Mr.  De  Lisle's  map  of  Louisiana,  who  lays 
down  the  Five  Nations  under  the  name  of  Iroquois : 
and  the  goods  are  daily  carried  from  this  province 
to  the  Senecas,  as  well  as  to  those  nations  that  lie 
nearer,  by  water  all  the  way,  except  three  miles,  (or 
in  the  dry  seasons  five  miles)  where  the  traders  carry 
over  land  between  the  Mohawks'  river  and  the  wood 
creek,  which  runs  into  the  Oneidas'  lake,  without 
going  near  either  St.  Lawrence  river,  or  any  of  the 
lakes  upon  which  the  I^'rench  pass,  which  are  entirely 
out  of  their  way. 

"The  nearest  French  forts  or  settlements  to 
Albany,  are  Chambly  and  Montreal,  both  of  them 
lying  about  north  and  by  east  from  Albany,  and  are 
near  two  hundred  miles  distant  from  it.  Quebec  lies 
about  three  hundred  and  eighty  miles  north-east 
from  Albany.  So  far  is  it  from  being  true,  that  the 
Five  Nations  are  situated  upon  the  banks  of  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  opposite  to  Quebec,  that  Albany 
lies  almost  directly  between  Quebec  and  the  Five 
Nations.  And  to  say  that  these  Indians  cannot  come 
to  trade  at  Albany,  but  by  going  down  the  river  St. 
Lawrence,  and  then  into  a  lake  eighteen  leagues 
from  Albany  (we  suppose  they  mean  lake  Cham- 
plain,)  passing  by  the  Frencli  forts,  is  to  the  same 
purpose  as  if  they  should  say,  that  one  cannot  go 
from  London  to  Bristol,  but  by  way  of  Edinburgh. 

"  Before  we  go  on  to  observe  other  particulars, 
we  beg  leave  further  to  remark,  that  it  is  so  far  from 
being  true,  that  the  Indians  in  the  French  interest 
lie  between  New-York  and  our  five  nations  of 
Indians ;  that  some  of  our  nations  of  Indiana  lie 
between  the  French  and  the  Indians  frcm  whence 

VOL.  I.— 83 


258 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


^:' 


the  French  bring  the  far  greatest  quantity  of  their 
furs  :  for  the  Senecas  (whom  the  French  call 
Sonontouons*)  are  situated  between  lake  Erie  and 
Cadaracqui  lake,  (called  by  the  French  Ontario,) 
near  the  great  fall  of  Iagara,t  by  wliich  all  the 
Indians  that  live  round  lake  Erie,  round  the  lake  of 
the  Hurons,  round  the  lake  of  the  Illinois,  or 
Michigan,  and  round  the  great  upper  lake,  gene- 
rally pass  in  their  way  to  Canada.  All  the  Indians 
situated  upon  the  branches  of  the  Mississippi,  must 
likewise  pass  by  the  same  place,  if  they  go  to 
Canada.  And  all  of  them  likewise,  in  their  way  to 
Canada,  pass  by  our  trading-place  upon  the  Cada- 
racqui lake,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Onondaga  river. 
The  nearest  ami  .safest  way  of  carrying  goods  upon 
the  Cadaracqui  lake,  towards  Canada,  being  along 
the  soulh  side  of  that  lake  (near  where  our  Indians 
are  settled,  and  our  trade  of  late  is  fixed)  and  not  by 
the  north  side  and  Cadaracqui,  or  Frontenac  fort, 
where  the  French  are  settled. 

**  Now  that  we  have  represented  to  your  excel- 
lency, that  not  one  word  of  the  geography  of  these 
merchants  is  true,  upon  which  all  their  reasoning 
is  founded,  it  might  seem  needless  to  trouble  your 
excellency  with  any  further  remaks,  wore  it  not  to 
show  with  what  earnestness  they  arc  promoting  the 
French  interest,  to  the  prejudice  of  all  his  majesty's 
colonies  in  North  America,  and  that  they  are  not 
ashamed  of  asserting  any  thing  for  that  end,  even 
in  the  royal  presence. 

"  First  they  say,  *  Tiiat  by  the  act  passed  in  this 


*  Isoiinoutouans. 

I  Somclirnes  Oiiiiigarn  Ojlmiaaum,  but  (.oiiip.ionly  TViajrara. 


IILSTOIIY   OP   NEW-YORK. 


259 


province,  entitled  an  act  for  the  encouragement 
of  the  Indian  trade,  &c.,  all  trade  whatsoever  is 
prohibited  in  the  strictest  manner,  and  under  the 
severest  penalties,  between  the  inhabitants  of  New- 
York  government,  and  the  French  of  Canada.' 

"  This  is  not  true  ;  for  only  carrying  goods  to  the 
French  which  are  proper  for  the  Indian  trade  is 
prohibited.  The  trade,  as  to  other  things,  is  left  in 
the  same  state  it  was  before  that  act  was  made,  as 
it  will  appear  to  any  person  that  shall  read  it ;  and 
there  are,  yearly,  large  quantities  of  other  goods 
openly  carried  to  Canada,  withe  it  any  hindrance 
from  the  government  of  New  York.  Whatever 
may  be  said  of  the  severity  and  penalties  in  that 
act,  they  are  found  insuflicient  to  deter  some  from 
carrying  goods  clandestinely  to  the  French  ;  and 
the  legislature  of  this  province  are  convinced  that 
no  penalties  can  be  too  severe,  to  prevent  a  trade 
which  puts  the  safety  of  all  his  majesty's  subjects  of 
North  America  in  the  greatest  danger. 

"  Their  next  assertion  is,  *  AH  the  Indian  goods 
have  by  this  act  been  raised  25/.  to  30/.  per  cent.' 
This  is  the  only  allegation  in  the  whole  petition 
that  there  is  any  ground  for.  Nevertheless,  though 
the  common  channel  of  trade  cannot  be  altered 
without  some  detriment  to  it  in  the  beginning,  we 
are  assured  from  the  custom-house  books,  that  there 
has  been  every  year,  since  the  passing  of  this  act, 
more  furs  exported  from  New- York,  than  in  the 
year  immediately  before  the  passing  of  this  act.  It 
is  not  probable  that  the  greatest  dilference  between 
the  exportation  uny  year  before  this  act  and  any 
year  since,  could  so  much  alter  the  price  of  Heaver, 


l\ 


.1 1 


!^60 


I118T0UY    OP  NEW-XORK. 


as  it  is  found  to  be  this  last  year.  Beaver  is  carried 
to  Britain  from  other  parts  besides  New- York,  and 
it  is  certain  that  the  price  of  beaver  is  not  so  much 
altered  here  by  the  quantity  in  our  market,  as  by 
the  demand  for  it  in  Britain.  But  as  we  cannot  be 
BO  well  informed  here,  what  occasions  beaver  to  be 
in  greater  demand  in  Britain,  we  must  leave  that  to 
be  inquired  after  in  England.  However,  we  are 
fully  satisfied  that  it  will  be  found  to  be  for  very 
different  reasons  from  what  the  merchants  allege. 

"  The  merchants  go  on  and  say,  *  Whereas,  on  the 
other  hand,  this  '  anch  of  the  New-York  trade,  by 
the  discouragements  brought  upon  it  by  this  act,  is 
almost  wholly  engrossed  by  the  French,  who  have 
already  by  this  act  been  encouraged  to  send  proper 
European  goods  to  Canada,  to  carry  on  this  trade, 
80  that  should  this  act  be  continued,  the  New- York 
trade,  which  is  very  considerable,  must  be  wholly 
lost  to  us  and  centre  in  the  French.  Though  New- 
York  should  not  furnish  them,  the  French  would 
find  another  way  to  be  supplied  therewith,  either 
from  some  other  of  his  majesty's  plantations,  or 
it  might  be  directly  from  Europe — many  of  the 
goods  which  the  Indians  want,  being  as  easy  to  be 
had  directly  from  France  or  Holland,  as  from  Great 
Britain.' 

"This  is  easily  answered,  by  informing  your 
excellency,  that  the  principal  of  the  goods  proper 
for  the  Indian  market,  are  only  of  the  manufactures 
of  Great  Britain,  or  of  the  British  plantations,  viz: 
strouds,  or  stroud-waters,  and  other  woollens,  and 
rum. — The  French  must  be  obliged  to  buy  all  their 
woollens  (the  strouds  especially)  in  England,  and 


:>4 


mSTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


'261 


1 


irried 
:,  and 
much 
as  by 
lot  be 
to  be 
bat  to 
re  are 
r  very 
Bge. 
on  the 
,de,  by 
act,  is 

0  have 
proper 

1  trade, 
v-York 
wholly 
1  New- 

would 

either 

oDs,  or 

of  the 

jy  to  be 

(1  Great 

\g  your 
proper 
factures 
)ns,  viz: 
ins,  and 
all  their 
nd,  and 


thence   carry  them  to  France,  in  order  to  their 
transportation  to  Canada. 

"  The  voyage  to  Quebec,  through  the  Bay  of  St. 
Lawrence,  is  well  known  to  be  the  most  dangerous 
of  any  in  the  world,  and  only  practicable  in  the 
summer  months.     The  French  have  no  commodi- 
ties in  Canada,  by  reason  of  the  cold  and  barrenness 
of  the  soil,  proper  for  the  West-India  markets ;  and 
therefore  have  no  rum  but  by  vessels  from  France, 
that  touch  at  their  islands  in  the  West-Indies.  New- 
York  has,  by  reason  of  its  situation,  both  as  to  the 
sea  and  the  Indians,  every  way  the  advantage  of 
Canada.     The  New- York  vessels  make  always  two 
voyages  in  a  year  from  England,  one  in  summer, 
and  another  in  winter,  and  several  voyages  in  a 
year  to  the  West-Indies.     It  is  manifest,  therefore, 
that  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  French  to  in'port 
any  goods  near  so  cheap,  to  Canada,  as  they  are 
imported  to  New- York. 

"  But  to  put  this  out  of  all  contioversy,  we  need 
only  observe  to  your  excellency,  that  strouds,  with- 
out which  no  considerable  trade  can  be  carried  on 
with  the  Indians,  are  sold  at  Albany  for  10/.  a  piece ; 
titcy  were  sold  at  Montreal,  before  this  act  took 
pia^e,  at  132.  28.  6d.  and  now  they  are  sold  there 
for  252.  and  upwards ;  which  is  an  evident  proof, 
that  the  French  have  not  in  these  four  years'  time 
(during  the  continuance  of  this  act)  found  out  any 
other  way  to  supply  themselves  with  strouds  ;  and 
likewise  that  they  cannot  trade  without  them,  seeing 
they  buy  them  at  so  extravagant  a  price. 

"  It  likewise  appears,  that  none  of  the  neighbour- 
ir?  colonies  have  been  able  to  supply  the  French 


;   ■! 


( n 


262 


inSTOUY   OF   NKW-VOUK. 


y- 


with  these  goods,  and  those  that '  ow  the  geography 
of  the  countr)',  know  it  is  impiucticablo  to  do  it  at 
any  tolerable  rate,  bccaiiao  they  must  carry  their 
goods  ten  tiinep  *urlher  by  bind  than  we  need  to  do. 

**  We  are  lil  »  « .se  assured,  that  the  merchants  of 
Montreal  lately  told  Mr.  Vaiidreuil,  their  governor, 
that  if  the  trade  from  Albany  be  not  by  some  means 
or  other  encouraged,  they  must  abandon  that  settle- 
ment. We  have  reason  therefore  to  suspect  that 
these  merchants  (at  least  some  of  them)  have  been 
practised  upon  by  the  French  agents  in  London ; 
for  no  doubt,  the  French  will  leave  no  method 
untried  to  defeat  the  present  designs  of  this  govern- 
mert,  seeing  they  are  more  afraid  of  the  conse- 
quences of  this  trade  between  New- York  and  the 
Indians,  than  of  all  the  warlike  expeditions  that  ever 
were  attempted  against  Canada. 

"  But  to  return  to  the  petitioners.  *  They  conceive 
nothing  can  tend  more  to  the  witlid rawing  the 
affections  of  the  Five  Nations  of  Indians  from  the 
English  interest,  than  the  continuance  of  the  said 
act,  which  in  its  effects  restrains  them  from  a  free 
commerce  with  the  inhabitants  of  New-York,  and 
may  too  probably  estrange  them  from  the  English 
interest ;  whereas  by  a  freedom  of  commerce,  and 
an  encouraged  intercourse  of  trade  with  the  French 
and  their  Indians,  the  English  interest  might,  in 
time,  be  greatly  improved  and  strengthened.' 

"  It  seems  to  us  a  strange  argument  to  say,  that  an 
act,  the  whole  purport  of  which  is  to  encourage  our 
own  people  to  go  among  the  Indians,  and  to  draw 
the  far  Indians  through  our  Indian  country  to  Albany 
Cand  which  has  truly  produced  these  effects)  would, 


lllstrORVr   OK   ISKW-VOUK. 


263 


on  the  contrary,  restrain  thoni  from  a  free  commerce 
with  the  inliabitants  of  New -York,  and  may  too 
probably  estrange  them  from  the  English  interest ; 
and  th(^reforc  that  it  would  be  much  wiser  in  us  to 
make  use  of  the  French,  lo  promote  the  J*!!nglish 
interest ;  ;ind  for  which  end,  we  ought  to  encourage 
a  frne  intercourse  between  them  and  our  Indians. 
The  reverse  of  this  is  exactly  true,  in  the  opinion  of 
Five  ations  ;  who,  in  all  their  public  ;*ifttiea 
wi  •»  government,  have  represented  a^  <?  .;     .his 

^d  •'>    building  the  French  forts  with  i:  \glish 

ii  that  the  encouraging  a  freedom  of  commerce 

wit  Indians,  and  the  Indians  round  them,  who 

must  pass  through  their  country  to  Albany,  would 
certainly  increase  both  the  English  interest  and 
theirs,  among  all  the  nations  to  the  westward  of 
them;  and  that  the  carrying  the  Indian  market  to 
Montreal  in  Canada,  draws  all  the  far  Indians 
thither. 

"  The  last  thing  we  have  to  take  notice  of  is  what 
the  merchants  asserted  before  the  lords  of  trade, 
viz.  *  That  there  has  not  been  half  the  quantity  of 
European  goods  exported  since  the  passing  of  this 
act,  that  used  to  be.' — We  are  well  assured,  that 
this  is  no  better  grounded  than  the  above  facts  they 
assert  with  the  same  positiveness.  For  it  is  well 
known  almost  to  every  person  in  New-York,  that 
there  has  not  been  a  less,  but  rather  a  greater  (juan- 
tity  of  European  goods  imported  into  this  place  since 
the  passing  of  this  act,  than  was  at  any  time  before 
it  in  the  same  space  of  time  ;  as  this  appears  by  the 

manifests  in  the  custom-house  here,  the  same  may 


(i      vV 


L\ 


— -■^J.,.,',(.-n5CU 


«>•>. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 

"^1^    12.5 

,50     "^        1^ 

U£  1^    ||2.2 

-  lis  IIM 

I.I 

IlilllJ. 

11.25 


1.4 


II 


1.6 


<^ 


^ 


V 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


73  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


)    (  ' 


■   ll 


■:i 


264 


HISTORY  OF  NEW-TORK. 


likewise  be  easily  proved  by  the  custom-house  books 
in  London. 

**  As  all  the  arguments  of  the  merchants  run  upon 
the  ill  effects  this  act  has  had  upon  the  trade  and  the 
minds  of  the  Indians,  every  one  of  which  we  have 
shown  to  be  asserted  without  the  least  foundation  to 
support  them ;  there  nothing  now  remains  but  to 
show  the  good  effects  this  act  has  produced,  which 
are  so  notorious  in  this  province  that  we  know  not 
one  person  that  now  opens  his  mouth  against  the  act. 

"  Before  this  act  passed,  none  of  the  people  of  this 
province  travelled  into  the  Indian  countries  to  trade. 
We  have  now  above  forty  young  men,  who  have 
been  several  times  as  far  as  the  lakes  a  trading,  and 
thereby  become  well  acquainted,  not  only  with  the 
trade  of  the  Indians,  but  likewise  with  their  man- 
ners and  languages ;  and  those  have  returned  with 
such  large  quantities  of  furs,  that  greater  numbers 
are  resolved  to  follow  their  example;  so  that  we 
have  good  reason  to  hope,  that  in  a  little  time  the 
English  will  draw  the  whole  Indian  trade  of  the 
inland  countries  to  Albany,  and  into  the  country  of 
the  Five  Nations.  This  government  has  built  a 
public  trading-house  upon  Cadaracqui  lake,  at  Iron- 
dequat,  in  the  Senecas'  land,  and  another  is  to  be 
built  next  spring,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Onondagas* 
river.  All  the  far  Indians  pass  by  these  places  in 
their  way  to  Canada ;  and  they  are  not  above  half  so 
far  from  the  English  settlements,  as  they  are  from 
the  French. 

"  So  far  is  it  from  being  true  what  the  merchants 
say,  *  that  the  French  forts  interrupt  all  communica- 


W^ 


HISTORY   OF   iVKVV-YOKK. 


265 


tion  between  the  Indians  and  the  English ;'  that  if 
these  places  be  well  supported,  as  they  easily  can 
be  from  our  settlements,  in  case  of  a  rupture  with 
the'  French  it  will  be  in  the  power  of  this  province 
to  intercept  the  greatest  part  of  the  trade  between 
Canada  and  the  Indians  round  the  lakes  and  the 
branches  of  the  Mississippi.  Since  this  act  passed, 
many  nations  have  come  to  Albany  to  trade  and  offer 
peace  and  friendship,  whose  names  had  not  so  much 
as  been  heard  of  among  us.  In  the  beginning  of 
May,  1723,  a  nation  of  Indians  came  to  Albany 
singing  and  dancing,  with  their  calumets  before 
them,  as  they  always  do  when  they  come  to  any  place 
where  they  have  not  been  before.  We  do  not  find 
that  the  commissioners  of  Indian  affairs  were  able 
to  inform  themselves  what  nation  this  was. 

"  Towards  the  end  of  the  same  month,  eighty 
men,  besides  the  women  and  children,  came  to 
Albany  in  the  same  manner.  These  had  one  of  our 
Five  Nations  with  them  for  an  interpreter,  by  whom 
they  informed  the  commissioners  that  they  were  of 
a  great  nation,  called  Nehkereages,  consisting  of 
six  castles  and  tribes ;  and  that  they  lived  near  a 
place  called  by  the  French,  Missimakinali,  between 
the  upper  lake  and  the  lake  of  the  Hurons.  These 
Indians  not  only  desired  a  free  commerce,  but  like- 
wise to  enter  into  a  strict  league  of  friendship  with 
us  and  our  six  nations,  that  they  might  be  accounted 
the  seventh  nation  in  the  league,  and  being  received 
accordingly,  they  left  their  calumet  as  a  pledge  of 
their  fidelity.  In  June  another  nation  arrived,  but 
from  what  part  of  the  continent  we  have  not 
learned. 

VOT,.  f.  —34 


..)  . 


I 


\ 


It',' 


I 


■,K^j.,:i„^;l 


f**^ 


>^A.''4 


L>66 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-YORK. 


i.  I 


\ ) 


\  i 


"  In  July  the  Twightwies  arrived,  and  brought  an 
Indian  interpreter  of  our  nations  with  them,  who 
told  that  they  were  called  by  the  French,  Miamies, 
and  that  they  live  upon  one  of  the  branches  of  the 
river  Mississippi.  At  the  same  time  some  of  the 
Tahsagrondie  Indians,  who  live  between  lake  Erie 
and  the  lake  Huron,  near  a  French  settlement,  did 
come  and  renew  their  league  with  the  English,  nor 
durst  the  French  hinder  them.  In  July  this  year, 
another  nation  came,  whose  situation  and  name  we 
know  not ;  and  in  August  and  September,  several 
parties  of  the  same  Indians  that  had  been  here  last 
year  :  but  the  greatest  numbers  of  these  far  Indians 
have  been  met  this  year  in  the  Indian  country,  by 
our  traders,  every  one  of  them  endeavoring  to  get 
before  another,  in  order  to  reap  the  profits  of  so 
advantageous  a  trade,  which  has  all  this  summer 
long  kept  about  forty  traders  constantly  employed, 
in  going  between  our  trading  places  in  our  Indian 
country,  and  Albany. 

"  All  these  nations  of  Indians,  who  came  to 
Albany,  f-^  ' '  that  the  French  had  told  them  many 
strange  h  ^s  of  the  English,  and  did  what  they 
could  to  hinder  their  coming  to  Albany,  but  that 
they  had  resolved  to  break  through  by  force.  The 
difference  on  this  score  between  the  Tahsagrondie 
Indians  and  the  French  (who  have  a  fort  and  settle- 
ment there,  called  by  them  Le  Detroit^  rose  to  that 
height,  this  summer,  that  Mr.  Tonti,  who  com- 
manded there,  thought  it  proper  to  retire,  and  return 
to  Canada  with  many  of  his  men. 

"  We  are,  for  these  reasons,  well  assured  that 
this  year  there  will  be  more  beaver  exported  for 


;  i 


i.-,j*' ■»••-(, .jf'i«kK.j 


UlSTOKY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


2(^7 


Great  Britain  than  ever  was  from  this  province  in 
one  year ;  and  that  if  the  custom-house  books  at 
London  be  looked  into,  it  will  be  found  that  there 
will  be  a  far  greater  quantity  of  goods  for  the  Indians 
(strouds  especially)  sent  over  next  spring,  than  ever 
Wus  at  any  one  time  to  this  province.  For  the  mer- 
chants here  tell  us,  that  they  have  at  this  time 
ordered  more  of  these  goods  than  ever  was  done  at 
any  one  time  before. 

**  These  matters  of  fact  prove  beyond  contradic- 
tion that  this  act  has  been  of  the  greatest  service  to 
New- York,  in  making  us  acquainted  with  many 
nations  of  Indians,  formerly  entirely  unknown  and 
strangers  to  us  ;  withdrawing  them  from  their 
dependance  upon  the  French,  and  in  uniting  them 
to  us  and  our  Indians,  by  means  of  trade  and  mutual 
offices  of  friendship.  Of  what  great  consequence 
this  may  be  to  the  British  interest  in  general,  as  to 
trade,  is  apparent  to  any  body.  It  is  no  less  appa- 
rent likewise,  that  it  is  of  the  greatest  consequence 
to  the  safety  of  all  the  British  colonies  in  North 
America.  We  feel  too  sensibly  the  ill  effects  of  the 
French  interest  in  the  present  war  betwixt  New- 
England  and  only  one  nation  of  Indians  supported 
by  the  French.  Of  what  dismal  consequences 
then  might  it  be,  if  the  French  should  be  able  to 
influence,  in  the  same  manner,  so  many  and  sucli 
numerous  nations,  as  He  to  the  westward  of  this 
province,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  ?  On  the 
other  hand,  if  all  these  nations  (who  assert  their 
own  freedom,  and  declare  themselves  friends  to 
those  that  supply  them  best  with  what  they  want) 
be  brouglit  to  have  a  dependance  upon  the  Eii'^lish 


f 


i 


i  J 


\^  I 


hi 


asuM 


'  »<!  '^",'.!?.iiM!*Wlli>»i 


268 


HISTORY    OP  NEW-YORK. 


r 


(as  we  have  good  reason  to  hope  in  a  short  time 
they  will)  the  French  of  Canada,  in  case  of  a  war, 
must  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  English.  "     . 

"  To  these  advantages  must  be  added,  that  many 
of  our  young  men  having  been  induced  by  this  act 
to  travel  among  the  Indians,  they  learn  their  man- 
ners, their  languages,  and  the  situation  of  all  their 
countries,  and  become  inured  to  all  manner  of 
fatigues  and  hardships ;  and  a  great  many  more 
being  resolved  to  follow  their  example,  these  young 
men,  in  case  of  war  with  the  Indians,  will  be  of  ten 
times  the  service  that  the  same  number  of  the  com- 
mon militia  can  be  of.  The  effects  of  this  act  have 
likewise  so  much  quieted  the  minds  of  the  people, 
with  respect  to  the  security  of  the  frontiers,  that  our 
settlements  are  now  extended  above  thirty  miles 
further  west  towards  the  Indian  countries,  than  they 
were  before  it  passed. 

"  The  only  thing  that  now  remains  to  answer,  is 
an  objection  which  we  suppose  may  be  made :  what 
can  induce  the  merchants  of  London  to  petition 
against  an  act  which  will  be  really  so  much  for  their 
interest  in  the  end  ?  The  reason  is  in  all  probability, 
because  they  only  consider  their  present  gain ;  and 
that  they  are  not  at  all  concerned  for  the  safety 
of  this  country,  in  encouraging  the  most  necessary 
undertaking,  if  they  apprehend  their  profit  for  two 
or  three  years  may  be  lessened  by  it.  This  inclina- 
tion of  the'  merchants  has  been  so  notorious,  that 
few  nations  at  war  with  their  neighbours  have  been 
able  to  restrain  them  from  supplying  their  enemies 
with  ammunition  and  arms.  The  count  D'Estrade, 
in  his  letters  in  1638,  says,  that  when  the  Dutch  were 


•»-■»  .jc*».^,.p« ».,.>«^.  — ^.n-..|>T.«rtaEi»*»iij«j,ii»»««.«-, 


HISTORY   OF  NEW-YORK. 


269 


besieging  Antwerp,  one  Beiland,  who  had  loaded 
four  fly-boats  with  arms  and  powder  for  Antwerp, 
being  taken  up  by  the  prince  of  Orange's  order, 
and  examined  at  Amsterdan>>  said  boldly  that  the 
burghers  of  Amsterdam  had  a  right  to  trade  every 
where :  that  he  could  name  a  hundred  that  were 
factors  for  the  merchants  at  Antwerp,  and  that  he 
was  one.  'That  trade  cannot  be  interrupted,  and 
that  for  his  part  he  was  very  free  to  own,  that  if  to 
get  any  thing  by  trade  it  were  necessary  to  pass 
through  hell,  he  would  venture  to  burn  his  sails.' 
When  this  principle  so  common  to  merchants  is 
considered,  and  that  some  in  this  place  have  got 
estates  by  trading  many  years  to  Canada,  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  that  they  have  acted  as  factors  for 
Canada  in  this  affair,  and  that  they  have  transmitted 
such  accounts  to  their  correspondents  in  London  as 
are  consistent  with  the  trust  reposed  in  them  by  the 
merchants  of  Canada. 

**  In  the  last  place,  we  are  humbly  of  opinion  that 
it  may  be  proper  to  print  the  petition  of  the  mer- 
chants of  London,  and  their  allegations  before  the 
lords  of  trade,  together  with  the  answers  your  com- 
mittee has  made  thereto  in  vindication  of  the  legis- 
lature of  this  province,  of  which  we  have  the  honour 
to  be  a  part,  if  your  excellency  shall  approve  of  our 
answers,  that  what  we  have  said  may  be  exposed  to 
the  examination  of  every  one  in  this  place  where  the 
truth  of  the  matters  of  fact  is  best  known,  and  that 
the  correspondents  of  these  merchants  may  have  the 
most  public  notice  to  reply,  if  they  shall  think  it 
proper,  or  to  disown  in  a  public  manner  that  they 


!t 


J      < 


»*^> 


270 


HI8TORT   OF   NEW-TORK. 


are  the  authors  of  such  groundless  informations. 

All  which  is  unanimously  and  humbly  submitted  by 
"  Your  Excellency's 

"  Most  obedient  humble  servants, 
«  R.  Walter, 
"Rip  Van  Dam, 
"John  Barbarie, 
"Fr.  Harrison, 
"  Cadwallader  Golden, 
"James  Alexander, 
"  Abraham  Van  Horne." 


ill      I 


i.  I 


Governor  Burnet  transmitted  this  report  to  the 
board  of  trade,  and  it  had  the  intended  effect.     ' 

About  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1724,  an  unfortu- 
nate dispute  commenced  in  the  French  church,  of 
which,  because  it  had  no  small  influence  on  the 
public  affairs  of  the  government,  1  shall  lay  before 
the  reader  a  short  account. 

The  persecutions  in  France,  which  ensued  upon 
the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz,  drove  the  pro- 
testant  subjects  of  Louis  XIV.  into  the  territories  of 
other  princes  ;  many  of  them  fled  even  into  this  prO' 
vince ;  the  most  opulent  settled  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  others  went  into  the  country  and  planted  New 
Rochelle,  and  a  few  seated  themselves  at  the  New 
Paltz  in  Ulster  county.  Those  who  resided  in  New- 
York  soon  erected  a  church  upon  the  principles  and 
model  of  that  in  Geneva  ;  and  by  their  growth  and 
foreign  accessions,  formed  a  congregation  for  num- 
bers and  riches  superior  to  all  but  the  Dutch.  They 
had  two  ministers  :  Rou,  the  first  called,  was  a  man 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


271 


of  learning,  but  proud,  pleasurable,  and  passionate : 
Moulinaars,  his  colleague,  was  most  distinguished  for 
his  pacific  spirit,  dull  parts,  and  unblameable  life  and 
conversation ;  Rou  despised  his  fellow  labourer,  and 
for  a  long  time  commanded  the  whole  congregation 
by  the  superiority  of  his  talents  for  the  pulpit.  The 
other,  impatient  of  repeated  affronts  and  open  con- 
tempt, raised  a  party  in  his  favour,  and  this  year 
succeeded  in  the  election  of  a  set  of  elders  disposed 
to  humble  the  delinquent.  Rou  being  suspicious  of 
the  design,  refused  to  acknowledge  them  duly 
elected.  Incensed  at  this  conduct,  they  entered 
an  act  in  their  minutes,  dismissing  him  from  the 
pastoral  charge  of  the  church,  and  procured  a 
ratification  of  the  act  under  the  hands  of  the  ma- 
jority of  the  people.  Governor  Burnet  had,  long 
before  this  time,  admitted  Rou  into  his  familiarity, 
on  the  score  of  his  learning :  and  that  consideration 
encouraged  a  petition  to  him,  from  Rou's  adherents, 
complaining  against  the  elders.  The  matter  was 
then  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  council,  who 
advised  that  the  congregation  should  be  admonished 
to  bring  their  differences  to  an  amicable  conclusion. 
Some  overtures,  to  that  end,  were  attempted  ;  and 
the  elders  ofT  \'  1  to  submit  the  controversy  to  the 
Dutch  ministers.  But  Rou,  who  knew  that  the 
French  church  in  this  country,  without  a  synod,  was 
unorganized,  and  could  not  restrain  him,  chose 
rather  to   bring  his  bill   in   chancery  before  the 


governor. 


tt 


'^ 


»i  1 


JR 


I        i 


fr 


Mr.  Alexander  was  his  council,  and  Mr.  Smith,^ 


*  These  gentlemen  came  into  the  colony  in  the  same  ship  in  1715.  The  latter 
was  born  at  Newport  Pagnel,  in  Buckinghamshire.    They  were  among  the 


•212 


III8TORY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


a  young  lawyer,  of  t}io  first  reputation  as  a  speaker, 
appeared  for  the  elders.  He  pleaded  to  the  juris-' 
diction  of  the  court,  insisting  that  the  matter  was 
entirely  ecclesiastical,  and,  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
argument,  entered  largely  into  an  examination  of 
the  government  of  the  protestant  churches  m  France. 
According  to  which,  he  showed  that  the  consistory 
were  the  proper  judges  of  the  point  in  dispute,  in 
the  first  instance;  and  that  from  thence  an  appeal  lay 
to  a  Collogue,  next  to  a  Provincial,  and  last  of  all  to 
a  national  synod.  Mr.  Burnet  nevertheless  over- 
ruled the  plea,  and  the  defendants,  being  fearful  of 
a  decree,  that  might  expose  their  own  estates  to  the 
payment  of  Rou's  salary,  thought  it  advisable  to  drop 
their  debates,  reinstate  the  minister,  and  leave  the 
church. 

All  those  who  opposed  Rou  were  disobliged  with 
the  Governor ;  among  these  Mr.  De  Lancey  was  the 
most  considerable  for  his  wealth  and  popular  influ- 
ence. He  was  very  rigid  in  his  religious  profession, 
one  of  the  first  builders,  and  by  far  the  most  generous 
benefactor  of  the  French  church,  and  therefore  left 
it  with  the  utmost  reluctance.  Mr.  Burnet,  before 
this  time,  had  considered  him  as  his  enemy,  because 
he  had  opposed  the  prohibition  of  the  French  trade; 
and  this  led  him  into  a  step,  which,  as  it  was  a 


principal  agents  in  the  political  struggles  during  tlio  administration  of  colonel 
Cosby.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  nephew  of  that  William  Smith  wJio  was  one  of  the  grand 
jary  committed  by  the  assembly  in  1717.  He  had  suffered  by  the  memorable 
earthquake  of  Port  Royal,  in  Jamaica,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  but  hav< 
ing  repaired  his  losses  by  a  successful  commerce  and  marriage,  removed  to 
New- York,  and  at  his  instance  Roveral  branches  of  his  family  were  induced  to 
leave  Buckinghamshire  and  become  inhabitants  of  this  colony. — The  uncle  came 
lierein  queen  Anne's  reign. 


lliMTUHY   OF    INEW-KOKK. 


273 


personal  indignity,  Mr.   Do  Lancey  could  never 
recollect  without  resentment.    This  gentleman  was 
returned  for  the  city  of  New-York,  in  the  room  of 
a  deceased  member,  at  the  meeting  of  the  assembly 
in  September  1725.     When  he  otfered  himself  for 
the  oaths,  Mr.  Burnet  asked  him  how  he  became  a 
subject  of  the  crown  ?    He  answered,  that  he  was 
denized  in  England,  and  his  excellency  dismissed 
him,  taking  time  to  consider  the  matter.    Mr.  De 
Lancey  then  laid  before  the  house  an  act  of  a  notary 
public,  certifying  that  he  was  named  in  a  patent  of 
denization,  granted  in  the  reign  of  James  the  second 
— a  patent  of  the  same  kind,  under  the  great  seal 
of  this  province,  in  1686 — and  two  certificates,  one 
of  his  having  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  according 
to  an  act  passed  here  in  1683,  and  another  of  his 
serving  in  several  former  assemblies.  The  governor, 
in  the  mean  time,  consulted  the  chief  justice,  and 
transmitted  his  opinion*  to  the  house,  who  resolved 
in  favour  of  Mr.  De  Lancey.     Several  other  new 
representatives  came  in,  at  this  session,  upon  the 
decease  of  the  old  members ;  and  Adolphe  Phillipse, 
who  was  some  time   before  dismissed   from   the 
council  board,  was  elected  into  the  speaker's  chair, 
in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Livingston.    The  majority, 
however,  continued  in  the  interest  of  the  governor, 
and  consented  to  the  revival  of  the  several  acts 
which  had  been  passed  for  prohibiting  the  French 
trade,  which,  in  spite  of  all  the  restraints  laid  upon 
it,  was  clandestinely  carried  on  by  the  people  of 

*  What  colonel  Morris's  opinion  was,  I  Iiaro  not  been  able  to  discover. 
Governor  Burnet's  conduct  was  thought  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  an  invasion 
of  the  rights  of  the  assembly,  who  claim  the  exclusive  privilege  of  dcterminiiig 
the  qualifications  of  their  own  memlicr!*. 

VOL.  I.  —35 


t 


I ! 


1 1" 


n 


■Ar-tt,    >r>ny»i-<« 


274 


HIHTOUf   UP  NEW-YORK. 


Albany.  Oswego,  novorthelosa,  grew  considerable 
for  its  cornmorce ;  fiily-seven  canoes  went  there  this 
summer,  and  returned  with  seven  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  packs  of  beaver  and  deer  skins.  •• 

Nothing  could  more  naturally  excite  the  jealousy 
of  the  French,  than  the  erection  of  the  now  trading 
house  at  the  mouth  of  the  Onondaga  river.  Fearful 
of  losing  a  profitable  trade,  which  they  had  almost 
entirely  engrossed,  and  the  command  of  the  lake 
Ontario,  they  launched  two  vessels  in  it  in  1726, 
and  transported  materials  for  building  a  large  store- 
house and  repairing  the  fort  at  Niagara.  The  scheme 
was  not  only  to  secure  to  themselves  the  entrance 
into  the  west  end  of  the  lake,  as  they  already  had 
the  east,  by  the  fraudulent  erection  of  fort  Fronte- 
nac,  many  years  before ;  but  also  to  carry  their  trade 
more  westerly,  and  thus  render  Oswego  useless,  by 
shortening  the  travels  of  the  western  Indians,  near 
two  hundred  mi!es.    Baron  de  Longuiel,  who  had 
the  chief  command  in  Canada,  on  the  death  of  the 
Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  in  October  1725,  was  so  intent 
upon  this  project,  that  he  went  in  person  to  the 
Onondaga  canton,  for  leave  to  raise  the  store-house 
at  Niagara :  and  as  those  Indians  were  most  of  all 
exposed  to  the  intrigues  of  the  Jesuits,  who  con- 
stantly resided  amongst  them ;  he  prevailed  upon 
them  by  fraud  and  false  representations  to  consent 
to  it,  for  their  protection  against  the  English.  But 
as  soon  as  this  matter  was  made  known  to  the  other 
nations,  they  declared  the  permission  granted  by  the 
Onondagas  to  be  absolutely  void,  and  sent  deputies 
to  Niagara,  with  a  message,  signifying  that  the 
country  in  which  they  were  at  work  belonged  solely 


rr 


iiiMTuKY  OF  Ni;w-youh. 


270 


tu  the  Senecas,  and  ro(|iiircd  them  immediately  to 
deaist.  The  French,  notwithstanding,  were  regard- 
less of  the  embassage,  and  pushed  on  their  enterprise 
with  all  possible  despatch,  while  Joncaire  exerted 
all  his  address  among  the  Indians  to  prevent  the 
demolition  of  the  works.  Canada  was  very  much 
indebted  to  the  incessant  intrigues  of  this  man.  He 
had  been  adopted  by  the  Senecas,  and  was  well 
esteemed  by  the  Onondagas.  He  spoke  the  Indian 
language,  as  Charlevoix  informs  us,  "  avec  la  plus 
sublime  eloquence  Iroquois,"  and  had  lived  among 
them,  after  their  manner,  from  the  beginning  of 
queen  Anne's  reign.  All  these  advantages  he 
improved  for  the  interest  of  his  country ;  he  facili- 
tated the  missionaries  in  their  progress  through  the 
cantons,  and  more  thuii  any  man,  contributed  to 
render  their  dependence  upon  the  English  weak 
and  precarious.  Convinced  of  this,  colonel  Schuyler 
urged  the  Indians,  at  his  treaty  with  them  in  1719, 
to  drive  •  Joncaire  out  of  their  country,  but  his 
endeavors  were  fruitless.* 

The  Jesuit  Charlevoix  does  honour  to  Mr.  Burnet 
in  declaring  that  he  left  no  stone  unturned  to  defeat 
the  French  designs  at  Niagara;  nor  is  it  much  to  be 
wondered  at,  for  besides  supplanting  his  favourite 
trade  at  Oswego,  it  tended  to  the  defection  of  the 
Five  Nations ;  and,  in  case  of  a  rupture,  exposed  the 
frontiers  of  our  southern  colonies  to  the  ravages  of 
the  French  and  their  allies.  Mr.  Burnet,  upon  whom 


1  ■ 


I    ! 


{\ 


% 


( 


I  i  ■ 


%  ■»; 


*  The  same  thing  has  since  beon  frequently  laboured,  but  to  no  purpose.  His 
son  continued  the  course  of  intrigues  begun  by  the  father,  till  general  Shirley, 
while  he  was  at  Oswego,  in  1755,  prevailed  upon  tiie  Senecas  to  order  Iiim  to 
Canada. 


-  *-*(  M;    ..    -«-j 


276 


lllf<TORY   OF   NEW-YOllK. 


-  / 


/     I  ' 


these  considerations  made  the  deepest  impresBion 
laid  the  matter  before  the  house,  remonstrated 
against  the  proceedings  to  Longuiel  in  Canada, 
wrote  to  the  ministry  in  England,  who  complained 
of  them  to  the  French  court,  and  met  the  confede- 
rates at  Albany,  endeavouring  to  convince  thera  of 
the  danger  they  themselves  would  be  in  from  an 
aspiring,  ambitious  neighbour ;  he  spoke  first  about 
the  affair  privately  to  the  sachems,  and  afterwards 
in  the  public  conference,  informed  them  of  all  the 
encroachments  which  the  French  had  made  upon 
their  fathers,  antl  the  ill  usage  they  had  met  with, 
according  to  La  Potherie's  account,  published  with 
the  privilege  of  the  French  king,  at  Paris,  in  1722. 
He  then  reminded  them  of  the  kind  treatment  they 
had  received  from  the  English,  who  constantly  fed 
and  clothed  them,  and  never  attempted  any  act  of 
hostilities  to  their  prejudice.  This  speech  was 
extremely  well  drawn,  the  thoughts  being  conceived 
in  strong  figures,  particularly  expressive  and  agree- 
able to  the  Indians.  The  governor  required  an 
explicit  declaration  of  their  sentiments,  concerning 
the  French  transactions  at  Niagara,  and  their 
answer  was  truly  categorical.  "  We  speak  now  in 
the  name  of  all  the  Six  Nations,  and  come  to  you 
howling.  This  is  the  reason  why  we  howl,  that  the 
governor  of  Canada  encroaches  on  our  land  and 
builds  thereon."  After  which  they  entreated  him  to 
write  to  the  king  for  succour.  Mr.  Burnet  embraced 
this  favorable  opportunity  to  procure  from  thera  a 
deed,  surrendering  their  country  to  his  majesty,  to 
be  protected  for  their  use,  and  confirming  their 
grant  in  1701,  concerning  which  there  was  only  an 


kt 


M 


,1 


HISTORY   OF   NEW- YORK. 


277 


entry  in  the  books  of  the  secretary  for  Indian  affairs.* 
It  happened  very  unfortunately,  that  his  excellency's 
hands  were  then  more  weakened  than  ever,  by  the 
growing  disaffection  iu  the  house.  The  intrigues  of 
his  adversaries,   and   the  frequent  deaths  of  the 
members,   had   introduced   such  a  change   in  the 
assembly,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he  procured  a 
three  years'  support.  The  clamours  of  the  people  ran 
so  high  without  doors  for  a  new  election,  that  he 
was  obliged  to  dissolve  the  house,  and  soon  after 
another  dissolution  ensued  on  the  death  of  the  king. 
The  French,  in  the  mean  time,  completed  their 
works  at  Niagara,  and  Mr.  Burnet,  who  was  unable 
to  do  any  thing  else,  erected  a  fort  in  1 727,  for  the 
protection  of  the  post  and  trade  at  Oswego.   This 
necessary  undertaking  was  pregnant  with  the  most 
important  consequences,  not  only  to  this,  but  all 
our  colonies  ;  and  though  the  governor's  seasonable 
activity  deserved  the  highest  testimonials  of  our 
gratitude,  I  am  ashamed  to  confess,  what  I  am 
bound  to  relate,  that  he  built  the  fort  at  his  private 
expense,  and  that  a  balance  of  £56  principal,  though 
frequently  demanded,  remains  due  to  his  estate  to 
this  very  day. 

Beauharnois,  the  governor  of  Canada,  who  super- 
seded Longuiel,  was  so  incensed  at  the  building  of 


.( 


/     i 


*  Besides  tlio  territories  at  the  west  end  of  lake  Erie,  and  on  the  north  side  of 
that,  and  the  lalte  Ontario,  which  were  ceded  in  1701 ;  the  Indians  now  granted 
for  the  same  purpose  all  their  habitations  from  Oswego  to  Cayahoga  river,  which 
disembogues  into  lake  Erie,  and  the  country  extending  sixty  miles  from  the 
southernmost  banks  of  those  lakes.  Though  the  first  surrender  through  negligence 
was  not  made  by  the  execution  of  a  formal  deed  under  seal,  yet,  as  it  was  trans- 
acted with  all  the  solemnity  of  a  treaty,  and  as  the  second  surrender  confirms  the 
first,  no  intermediate  possession  by  the  French  can  prejudice  the  British  title 
derived  bv  the  cession  in  1701 . 


278 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YORK. 


il 


if,     \ 


the  fort,  that  he  sent  a  written  summons,  in  July,  to 
the  officer  posted  there,  to  obandon  it ;  and  though 
his  predecessor  had  done  the  same  a  little  before, 
at  Niagara,  in  the  county  of  the  Senecas,  the 
acknowledged  subjects  of  the  British  crown,*  yet, 
with  a  singular  effrontery,  he  despatched  De  la 
Chassaigne,  a  man  of  parts  and  governor  of  Trois 
Rivieres,  to  New- York,  with  the  strongest  complaints 
to  Mr.  Burnet  upon  that  head.  His  excellency  sent 
him  a  polite  but  resolute  answer,  on  the  8th  of 
August,  in  which  he  refuted  the  arguments  urged 
by  the  French  governor-general,  and  remonstrated 
against  the  proceedings  of  the  last  year  at  Niagara. 
The  new  assembly  met  in  September,  1727,  and 
consisted  of  members  all  ill  affected  to  the  governor. 
The  long  continuance  of  the  last,  the  clamours  which 
were  excited  by  several  late  important  decrees  in 
chancery,  the  affair  of  the  French  church,  and 
especially  the  prohibiting  the  Canada  trade,  were 
the  causes  to  which  the  loss  of  his  interest  is  to 
be  ascribed.  Mr.  Philipse,  the  speaker,  was  piqued 
at  a  decree  in  chancery  against  himself,  which  very 
much  affected  his  estate  ;  no  wonder  then  that  the 


*  Though  the  sovereiijnty  over  the  Five  Nations  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain, 
and  Charlevoix  himself  had  acknowledged  tliat  Niagara  was  part  of  their  coun- 
try, yet  the  pious  Jesuit  applauds  the  F'rench  settlement  there^  which  was  so 
manifest  an  infraction  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  The  marquis  De  Nonville,  in  his 
letter  to  the  court  of  France ,  in  1686,  proposed  the  erection  of  a  fort  there,  to 
secure  the  communication  with  tlie  lakes  and  deprive  us  of  a  trade  which  he 
computed  to  be  worth  400,000  francs  per  annum.  Charlevoix  perhaps  considered 
these  advantages  suiliciont  to  justify  the  violation  of  public  faith ;  reasoning  upon 
the  principles  of  I.o  Chevalier  de  Cclliorcs,  who  thought  the  legality  of  making 
a  conquest  of  New-York  during  the  strict  peace  in  James  the  second's  reign^ 
might  be  inferred  from  the  benefit  that  would  thereby  accrue  to  the  French 
colony, "  que  il  n'y  avoit  point  d'autre  voye  pour  conserver  la  colonic,  que  de 
nousrendre  maitrcs  de  la  Non voile  Yoik  ;  and  que  cntte  conqu^te  etoit  legitime 
par  la  nccesRit*^." 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


279 


members,  who  were  very  much  influenced  by  him, 
came  on  the  25th  of  November,  into  the  following 
resolutions.  Colonel  Hicks,  from  the  committee  of 
grievances,  reported,  "that  as  well  by  the  com- 
plaints of  several  people,  as  by  the  general  cry  of 
his  majesty's  subjects  inhabiting  this  colony,  they 
find  that  the  court  of  chancery,  as  lately  assumed  to 
be  set  up  here,  renders  the  liberties  and  properties 
of  the  said  subjects  extremely  precarious  ;  and  that 
by  the  violent  measures  taken  in,  and  allowed  by  it, 
some  have  been  ruined,  others  obliged  to  abandon 
the  colony,  and  many  restrained  in  it,  either  by 
imprisonment  or  by  excessive  bail  exacted  from 
them  not  to  depart,  even  when  no  manner  of  suits 
are  depending  against  them :  and  therefore  are  of 
opinion,  that  the  extraordinary  proceedings  of  that 
court,  and  the  exorbitant  fees  and  charges  counte- 
nanced  to  be  exacted  by  the  officers  and  practitioners 
thereof,  are  the  greatest  grievance  and  oppression 
this  colony  hath  ever  felt ;  and  that  for  removing 
the  fatal  consequences  thereof,  they  had  come  to 
several  resolutions,  which  being  read,  were  approved 
by  the  house,  and  are  as  follow : 

"  Resohedf  That  the  erecting  or  exercising  in 
this  colony,  a  court  of  equity  or  chancery  (however 
it  may  be  termed)  without  consent  in  general 
assembly,  is  unwarrantable  and  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  England,  and  a  manifest  oppression  and  griev- 
ance to  the  subjects,  and  of  a  pernicious  consequence 
to  their  liberties  and  properties. 

"  Eesohed,  That  this  house  will,  at  their  next 
meeting,  prepare  and  pass  an  act  to  declare  and 
adjudge  all  orders,  ordinances,  devices  and  pro- 


''■■■.l 


I. 


'   i\ 


>    h  . 


280 


HISTORY  OP  NEW-YORK. 


\  ;i 


ceedings  of  the  court,  so  assumed  to  be  erected  and 
exercised  as  above-mentioned,  to  be  illegal,  null  and 
void,  as  by  law  and  right  they  ought  to  be. 

"Resolved,  That  this  house,  at  the  same  time, 
will  take  into  consideration  whether  it  be  necessary 
to  establish  a  court  of  equity  or  chancery  in  this 
colony,  in  whom  the  jurisdiction  thereof  ought  to 
be  vested,  and  how  far  the  powers  of  it  shall  be 
prescribed  and  limited"  ^^   r- 

Mr.  Burnet  no  sooner  heard  of  these  votes,  than 
he  called  the  members  before  him,  and  dissolved 
the  assembly.  They  occasioned,  however,  an  ordi- 
nance in  the  spring  following,  as  well  to  remedy 
sundry  abuses  in  the  practice  in  chancery,  as  to 
reduce  the  fees  of  that  court,  which  on  account  of 
the  popular  clamours,  were  so  much  diminished,  that 
the  wheels  of  the  chancery  have  ever  since  rusted 
upon  their  axis,  the  practice  being  contemned  by  all 
gentlemen  of  eminence  in  the  profession. 

We  are  now  come  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Burnet's 
administration,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the  chief 
command  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  Though  we 
never  had  a  governor  to  whom  the  colony  is  so  much 
indebted  as  to  him  ;  yet  the  influence  of  a  faction, 
in  the  judgment  of  some,  rendered  his  removal 
necessary  for  the  public  tranquillity  Insensible  of 
his  merit,  the  undistinguishing  multitude  were  taught 
to  consider  it  as  a  most  fortunate  event;  and  till  the 
ambitious  designs  of  the  French  king,  with  respect 
to  America,  awakened  our  attention  to  the  general 
welfare,  Mr.  Burnet's  administration  was  as  little 
esteemed  as  that  of  the  meanest  of  his  predecessors. 

He  was  very  fond  of  New- York,  and  left  it  with 


lirSTORY   OP   NKW-YORK. 


281 


reluctance.  His  marriage  here  connected  him  with 
a  numerous  family,  and  besides  an  universal  ac- 
quaintance, there  were  some  gentlemen  with  whom 
he  contracted  a  strict  intimacy  and  friendship. 

The  excessive  love  of  money,  a  disease  common 
to  all  his  predecessors,  and  to  some  who  succeeded 
him,  was  a  vice  from  which  he  was  entirely  free. 
He  sold  no  offices,  nor  attempted  to  raise  a  fortune 
by  indirect  means;  for  he  lived  generously,  and 
carried  scarce  any  thing  away  with  him  but  his  . 
books.  These  and  the  conversation  of  men  of  letters 
were  to  him  inexhaustible  sources  of  delight.  His 
astronomical  observations  have  been  useful ;  but  by 
his  comment  on  the  apocalypse,  he  exposed  himself, 
as  other  learned  men  hdve  before  him,  to  the 
criticisms  of  those  who  have  not  abilities  to  write 
half  so  well.  \  -.  :;v  ,        v,      '/ 

John  Montgomerie,  esq.  received  the  great  seal 
of  this  province  from  Mr.  Burnet,  on  the  15th  of 
April,  1728,  having  a  commission  to  supersede  him 
here  and  in  New-Jersey.  The  council  board  con- 
sisted of 


Mr.  Walters, 
Mr.  Van  Dam, 
Mr.  Barbarie, 
Mr.  Clarke, 
Mr.  Harrison, 
Dr.  Golden, 


Mr.  Alexander, 
Mr.  Morris,  Jun.' 
Mr.  Van  Horne, 
Mr.  Provoost, 
Mr.  Livingston,  *' 
Mr.  Kennedy. 


The  governor  was  a  Scotch  gentleman,  and  bred 
a  soldier,  but  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  had 
little  concern  with  jirms,  having  served  as  groom  of 
the  bed-chamber  to  his  present  majesty,  before  his 
accession  to  the  throne.  This  station,  and  a  seat  he 

VOL.  T— 36 


]i .? 


fli 


I 


.^'iiwila^i, 


282 


IlISTOUY    OV   NEW-YORK. 


had  in  parliament,  paved  the  way  to  his  preferment 
in  America.  In  his  talents  for  government  he  was 
much  inferior  to  his  predecessor,  for  he  had  neither 
strength  nor  acuteness  of  parts,  and  was  but  little 
acquainted  with  any  kind  of  literature. 

As  in  the  natural,  so  in  the  political  world,  a 
violent  storm  is  often  immediately  succeeded  by  a 
peaceful  calm ;  tired  by  the  mutual  struggles  of 
party  rage,  every  man  now  ceased  to  act  under  its 
influence.  The  governor's  good  humour  too  extin- 
guished the  flames  of  contention,  for  being  unable 
to  plan,  he  had  no  particular  scheme  to  pursue  ;  and 
thus  by  confining  himself  to  the  exercise  of  the 
common  acts  of  government,  our  public  affairs  flowed 
on  in  a  peaceful,  uninterrupted  stream.   ~     ^ 

The  reader  will,  for  this  reason,  find  none  of 
those  events  in  colonel  Montgomerie's  short  admi- 
nistration, which  only  take  rise  under  the  superin- 
tendency  of  a  man  of  extensive  views.  Indeed  he 
devoted  himself  so  much  to  his  ease,  that  he  has 
scarce  left  us  any  thing  to  perpetuate  the  remem- 
brance of  his  time. 

The  two  rocks  upon  which  the  public  tranquil- 
lity was  shipwrecked  in  the  late  administration  he 
carefully  avoided;  for  he  dissolved  the  assembly, 
called  by  his  predecessor,  before  they  had  ever  been 
convened :  and  as  to  the  chancery  he  himself  coun- 
tenanced the  clamours  against  it,  by  declining  to 
sit ;  till  enjoined  to  exercise  the  office  of  chancellor 
by  special  orders  from  England.  He  then  obeyed 
the  command,  but  not  withoi^t  discovering  his 
reluctance,  and  modestly  confessing  to  the  practisers, 
that  he  thought  himself  unqualified  for  the  station. 


HISTORY  OF   NEW-YORK. 


283 


Indeed  the  court  of  chancery  was  evidently  his 
aversion,  and  he  never  gave  a  single  decree  in  it, 
nor  more  than  three  orders ;  and  these,  both  as  to 
matter  and  form,  were  first  settled  by  the  council 
concerned. 

Mr.  Philipse  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  assembly 
which  met  on  the  23d  of  July,  and  continued  sitting 
in  perfect  harmony  till  autumn.  After  his  excellency 
had  procured  a  five  years'  support,  and  several  other 
laws  to  his  mind,  of  less  considerable  moment,  he 
went  up  to  Albany,  and,  on  the  1st  of  October,  held 
a  treaty  with  the  Six  Nations  for  a  renewal  of  the 
ancient  covenant.  He  gave  them  great  presents, 
and  engaged  them  in  he  defence  of  Oswego. 

Nothing  could  be  more  seasonable  than  this  in- 
terview, for  the  French,  who  eyed  that  important 
garrison,  and  our  increasing  trade  there,  with  the 
most  restless  jealousy,  prepared  early  in  the  spring 
following  to  demolish  the  works.  Governor  Burnet 
gave  the  first  intelligence  of  this  design  in  a  letter 
to  Colonel  Montgomerie,  dated  at  Boston  the  3 1st 
of  March,  1729.  The  garrison  was  thereupon  im- 
mediately reinforced  by  a  detachment  from  the 
independent  companies  ;  which,  together  with  the 
declared  resolution  of  the  Indians  to  protect  the 
fort,  induced  the  French  to  desist  from  the  intended 


invasion.* 

*From  that  time  to  the  year  1754,  tliis  garrison  was  guarded  only  by  a 
lieutenant  and  five  and  twenty  men.  General  Shirley's  parting  from  the  forces 
destined  against  fort  Du  Quesne,  and  proceeding  with  half  the  army  to  Oswego 
in  17S5,  was  extremely  fortunate  to  our  colonies ;  the  French  being  then  deter- 
mined and  prepared  to  possess  themselves  of  that  post.  Besides  the  vessels 
launched  there  to  secure  the  command  of  the  lake,  the  general  before  he  returned 
to  winter  quarters,  erected  two  strong  square  forts  with  bastions,  commanding 
as  well  tlie  entrance  into  the  Onondaga  river  as  the  old  fort,  in  the  situation  of 
which  little  regard  wsis  had  to  any  tiling  besides  tlie  pleasantness  of  llif 
prospect. 


I 


Ki 


!1 

it 


fUi 


,  ' 


>.agf.a^a'j'r">'*y? "— ' " 


r 


284 


lIlSTOttV    OF    J\EW-YORK. 


lU 


Thus  far  our  Indian  aflairs  appeared  to  he  under 
a  tolerable  direction  ;  but  these  fair  prospects  were 
soon  obscured  by  the  king^s  repealing,  on  the  11th 
of  December,  1 729,  all  the  acts  which  Mr.  Burnet, 
with  so  much  labour  and  opposition,  procured  for 
the  prohibition  of  an  execrable  trade  between 
Albany  and  Montreal.  To  whose  intrigues  this 
event  is  to  be  ascribed,  cannot  be  certainly  deter- 
mined ;  but  that  it  was  pregnant  with  the  worst 
consequences,  time  has  sufficiently  evinced  :  nothing 
could  more  naturally  tend  to  undermine  the  trade 
at  Oswego,  to  advance  the  French  commerce  at 
Niagara,  to  alienate  the  Indians  from  their  fidelity 
to  Great  Britain,  and  particularly  to  rivet  the  defec- 
tion of  the  Caghnuagas.  For  these  residing  on 
the  south  side  of  St.  Lawrence,  nearly  opposite  to 
Montreal,  were  employed  by  the  French  as  their 
carriers,  and  thus  became  interested  against  us,  by 
motives  of  the  most  prevailing  nature.  One  would 
imagine  that  after  the  attention  bestowed  on  this 
affair  in  the  late  administration,  the  objections 
against  this  trading  intercourse  with  Canada  must 
have  been  obvious  to  the  meanest  capacity ;  and  yet 
so  astonishing  has  been  our  conduct,  that  from  the 
time  Mr.  Burnet  removed  to  Boston,  it  has  rather 
been  encouraged  than  restrained.  This  trade, 
indeed,  was  subject  to  duties  ;  but  that  at  Oswego 
always  was,  and  still  is,  exposed  to  the  same  incum- 
brance ;  while  the  French  trade,  in  the  interval 
between  the  years  1744  and  1750,  was  perfectly 
free  :  and  as  the  duty,  by  the  law  then  made,  is 
laid  only  on  goods  sold  in  the  city  and  county  of 
Albany,  the  trader,  to  elude  the  act,  is  only  exposed 
to   the   trouble   of    transport in<T   his   mercliandisf 


c 


HISTORY   OF   NEVV-YOKK. 


285 


beyond  the  scant  district  of  the  city  ascertained  in 
the  charter.  But  how  much  soever  our  inattention 
to  this  matter  may  deserve  censure,  I  cannot  in 
justice  to  my  countrymen  help  observing,  that  from 
the  severest  scrutiny  I  could  make,  our  people  are 
free  from  the  charge  of  selling  ammunition  to  the 
French,  which  has  so  unjustly  exposed  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Albany  to  the  odium  of  all  the  colonies  in 
New-B]ngland.*  ,  ^ 

The  year  1731  was  distinguished  only  by  the 
complete  settlement  of  the  disputed  boundary  be- 
tween this  province  and  the  colony  of  Connecticut ; 
an  event,  considering  the  late  colonizing  spirit  and 
extensive  claims  of  the  people  of  New-England,  of 
no  small  importance,  and  concerning  which  it  may 
be  proper  to  give  a  succinct  account. 

The  partition  line  agreed  upon  in  1664  being 
considered  as  fraudulent  or  erroneous,  a  second 
agreement,  suspended  only  for  the  king's  and  the 
duke's  approbation,  was  concluded  on  the  23d  of 
November,  1683,  between  colonel  Dongan  and  his 
council,  and  Robert  Trent,  esq.  then  governor  of 
Connecticut,  and  several  other  commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  that  colony.  The  line  of  partition  then 
agreed  to  be  established,  was  to  begin  at  the  mouth 
of  Byram  brook,  "where  it  falleth  into  the  Sound  at 
a  point  called  Lyon's  Point,  to  go  as  the  said  river 
runneth  to  the  place  where  the  common  road  or 
wading  place  over  the  said  river  is ;  and  from  the 
said  road  or  wading  place  to  go  north  north-west 
into  the  country,  as  far  as  will  be  eight  English 

*  Ever  since  the  year  1729,  the  sale  of  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  French 
has  been  exempt  both  from  duties  and  a  prohibition,  which  I  attribute  to  tlio 
''onfidenco  of  the  government  thiit  the  cnhimny  is  entirnlv  uronndlcf^s. 


I 


*  If' 


2se 


HISTORY    OP  NEW-YORK. 


.  I 


fi4/ 


miles  from  the  aforesaid  Lyon's  Point ;  and  tiiat  a 
line  of  twelve  miles  being  measured  from  the  said 
Lyon's  Point,  according  to  the  line  or  general  course 
of  the  Sound  eastward,  where  the  said  twelve  miles 
endeth,  another  line  shall  be  run  from  the  Sound 
eight  miles  into  the  country  north  north-west ;  and 
also,  that  a  fourth  line  be  run  (that  is  to  say  from 
the  northernmost  end  of  the  eight  miles  line,  being 
the  third  mentioned  line,)  which  fourth  line  with  the 
Arst  mentioned  line  shall  be  the  bounds  where  they 
shall  fall  to  run ;  and  that  from  the  easternmost  end 
of  the  fourth  mentioned  line  (which  is  to  be  twelve 
miles  in  length)  a  line  parallel  to  Hudson's  river,  in 
every  place  twenty  miles  distant  from  Hudson's  river, 
shall  be  the  bounds  there,  between  the  said  territo- 
ries or  province  of  New-York,  and  the  said  colony 
of  Connecticut,  so  far  as  Connecticut  colony  doth 
extend  northwards  ;  that  is  to  the  south  line  of  the 
Massachusetts  colony :  only  it  is  provided,  that  in 
case  the  line  from  Byram  brook's  mouth,  north  north- 
west eight  miles,  and  the  line  that  is  then  to  run 
twelve  miles  to  the  end  of  the  third  fore-mentioned 
line  of  eight  miles,  do  diminish  or  take  away  land 
within  twenty  miles  of  Hudson's  river,  that  then  so 
much  as  is  in  land  diminished  of  twenty  miles  of 
Hudson's  river  thereby,  shall  be  added  out  of 
Connecticut' bounds  unto  the  line  afore-mentioned, 
parallel  to  Hudson's  river  and  twenty  miles  distant 
from  it ;  the  addition  to  be  made  the  whole  length 
of  the  said  parallel  line,  and  in  such  breadth  as  will 
make  up  quantity  for  quantity  what  shall  be  diminish- 
ed as  aforesaid." 

Pursuant  to  this  agreement,  some  of  the  lines  were 


HISTORY   OP   NKW-rORK. 


287 


actually  run  out,  and  a  report  made  of  the  survey, 
which,  on  the  24th  of  February,  1684,  was  confirmed 
by  the  governor  of  each  colony  at  Milford  in  Con- 
necticut. Here  the  matter  rested  till  a  dispute  arose 
concerning  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  towns 
of  Rye  and  Bedford,  which  occasioned  a  solicitation 
at  home;  and  on  the  2Hth  of  March,  1700,  king 
William  was  pleased  to  confirm  the  agreement 
made  in  1683. 

Nineteen  years  afterwards,  a  probationary  act 
was  passed,  empowering  the  governor  to  appoint 
commissioners  as  well  to  run  the  line  parallel  to 
Hudson's  river  as  to  re-survey  the  other  lines  and 
distinguish  the  boundary.  The  Connecticut  agent 
opposed  the  king's  confirmation  of  this  act  totis 
viribuSt  but  it  was  approved  on  the  23d  of  January, 
1723.  Two  years  after  the  commissioners  and  sur- 
veyors of  both  colonies  met  at  Greenwich,  and  enter- 
ed first  into  an  agreement  relating  to  the  method  of 
performing  the  work. 

The  survey  was  immediately  after  executed  in 
part,  the  report  being  dated  on  the  12th  of  May, 
1725 ;  but  the  complete  settlement  was  not  made 
till  the  14th  of  May,  1731,  when  indentures  certify- 
ing the  execution  of  the  agreement  in  1725,  were 
mutually  signed  by  the  commissioners  and  surveyors 
of  both  colonics.  Upon  the  establishment  of  this 
partition,  a  tract  of  land  lying  on  the  Connecticut 
side  consisting  of  above  sixty  thousand  acres,  from 
its  figure  called  the  Oblong  was  ceded  to  New-York, 
as  an  equivalent  for  lands  near  the  Sound  surren- 
dered to  Connecticut.* 


■  Scfl  Douglas's  Into  plan  of  the  British  dominions  of  New-England. 


288 


IIIsroIlY    OF    i\EW-V()UK. 


ws 


The  very  day  after  the  surrender  made  by  that 
colony,  a  patent  passed  in  London  to  sir  Joseph 
Eyios  and  others,  intended  to  convey  the  wholo 
Oblong.  A  gront  posterior  to  the  other  was  also 
regularly  made  hero  to  ITauIey  and  Company  of  the 
greatest  part  of  the  same  tract,  which  the  British 
patentees  brought  a  bill  in  chancery  to  repeal ;  but 
the  defendants  filed  an  answer,  containing  so  many 
objections  against  the  English  patent,  that  ^he  suit 
remains  still  unprosecutcd,  and  the  *!  i  'icfn  pro- 
prietors have  ever  since  held  the  j»asfif;^sitii..  Mr. 
Ilarison  of  the  council,  solicitrl  thi-^  >•;,  strove  rsy  for 
sir  Joseph  Eyics  and  his  parr-.  '  .  which  contributed 
in  a  great  degree  to  the  troubles  so  remarkable  in  a 
succeeding  administration. 

Governor  Montgomerie  died  on  the  1st  of  July, 
1731;  and  being  a  man  of  a  kind  and  humane  dis- 
position, his  death  was  not  a  little  lamented.  The 
chief  command  then  devolved  upon  Rip  Van  Dam, 
esq.  he  being  the  oldest  counsellor,  and  an  eminent 
merchant  of  a  fair  estate,  though  distinguished  more 
for  the  integrity  of  his  heart  than  his  capacity  to  hold 
the  reins  of  government :  he  took  the  oaths  before 

Mr.  Alexander,  Mr.  De  Lancy,*  and 

Mr.  Van  Horne,  Mr.  Courtlandt. 

Mr.  Kennedy, 

This  administration  is  unfortunately  signalized  by 
the  memorable  encroachment  at  Crown  Point.  An 
enemy  deS|  i^od  at  first  for  his  weakness  generally 
grows  forn:i'bL. ,    »r  his  a(     ity  and  craft;  thisob- 

*  This  gentleman  being  a  youth  of  fuio  part's  was  called  up  to  the  council 
board  on  the  2Gth  of  January,  1729,  just  alter  his  return  from  the  univoraity. 
Mr.  Morris,  jun.  was  sunpcndod  on  the  same  day, for  words  dropped  in  u  difiputp 
relating  to  the  srovcrnor's  draujrlits  upon  the  revenue. 


/■ 


lilHroUY    OF   Mi:W-YUUk. 


289 


aurvation  is  true,  applied  to  private?  pcrHons,  religious 
sects,  or  public  states.  The  l<>eneh  in  Canada 
have  alwayn  been  jealous  of  the  irirreasing  strength 
of  our  Colonies  ;  and  a  motive  of  fear  led  them  natu- 
rally t(i  concert  a  regular  syvstem  of  conduct  for  their 
def(»n('e  :  confinia:^  us  to  scant  limitH  along  the  soa- 
CoiiMt  In  the  jQfiuul  objcM't  tlH'v  have  lonir  had  in  view; 
and  seizing  the  onpnrtant  passes  from  Canada  to 
Louisiana,  seducing  our  Indian  allK:^,  engroHHing 
the  trade,  and  fortifv  mg  the  routes  into  i\u  <r  country, 
were  all  proper  expedients  towards  the  cx«  'iiion  of 
their  plan.  By  erecting  fort  St.  Kr  deriv  ,  they 
secured  the  absolute  command  of  lakr  haioplain, 
through  which  we  must  pass  if  «  ver  a  lescerit  be 
made  upon  Canada,  either  to  con<|uer  tlic  coi-  itry, 
or  harass  its  out  settlements.  The  gnrri  )n  was 
at  first  situated  o  i  the  east  side  of  the  lak'  ar  tlio 
south  end  ;  but  wi.s  afterwards  built  upon  inmo- 
dious  point  on  the  tpposite  side  :  of  all  the  infrac- 
tions of  the  treaty  o  Utrecht  none  was  more  \  'nablc 
than  this.  The  couii'ry  belonged  to  the  Six  ^  liims, 
and  the  very  spot  upon  which  tUe  fort  si.i  Is  is 
included  within  a  patent  to  Delliue^,  the  Dutci  min- 
ister of  Albany,  grant  mI  under  the  great  seal  this 
province  in  IGQU;  benides,  nothing  could  be  more 
evident  than  the  danirer  to  which  it  exposed  ■!. 
Through  this  lake  the  French  parties  made  tiieir 
ancient  bloody  incursi  »ns  upon  Schenectady,  the 
Mohawks'  castles,  and  )ecrfield  ;  and  the  erection 
of  this  fort  was  apparer  tly  adapted  to  facilitate  the 
inroads  of  the  enemy  up  »n  the  frontiers  of  the  colo- 
nies of  New- York,  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  New- 
Hampshire  ;  for  it  served  not  only  as  an  asylum  to 
VOT,.  f. — 37 


290 


HISTORY    OF   NEW-YORK. 


fly  to  after  the  perpetration  of  their  inhumanities,  but 
for  a  magazine  of  provisions  and  ammunition;  and 
though  it  was  much  above  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  from  the  very  city  of  Albany,  yet  by  the  con- 
veyance through  Sorel  river  and  the  lake,  it  may  be 
reinforced  from  Montreal  in  three  or  four  days. 

The  Massachusetts  government  foresaw  the  dan- 
gerous consequences  of  tlic  French  fort  at  Crown 
Point,  and  governor  Belcher  gave  us  the  first  infor- 
mation of  it  in  a  letter  from  Boston  to  Mr.  Van  Dam. 
He  informed  him  of  the  vote  of  the  general  court  to 
bear  their  proportion  of  the  charge  of  an  embassage 
to  Canada  to  forbid  the  works,  and  pressed  him  to 
engage  the  opposition  of  the  Six  Nations.  Van 
Dam  laid  the  letter  before  his  council  on  the  4th  of 
February,  1732,  who  with  singular  calmness  advised 
him  to  write  to  the  commissioners  of  Indian  affairs  at 
Albany,  ordering  them  to  inquire  whether  the  land 
belonged  to  the  confederates  or  the  River  Indians. 
That  Mr.  Van  Dam  ever  wrote  to  the  commissioners 
I  have  not  been  able  to  discover ;  nor  whether  any 
complaint  of  the  encroachment  was  sent  home, 
according  to  the  second  advice  of  council  on  the 
11th  of  February,  who,  besides  the  first  step,  were 
now  pleased  to  recommend  his  transmitting  governor 
Belcher's  letter  and  the  Boston  vote  to  the  several 
south  western  colonies. 

The  passivencss  wo  discovered  on  this  impudent 
and  dangerous  invasion  of  his  majesty's  rights,  is 
truly  astonishing  ;  and  the  more  so,  as  the  crown 
had  at  that  time  four  independent  companies,  which 
had  long  been  posted  here  for  our  protection,  at  the 
annual  expense  of  about  7500  jjounds  sterling.    A 


HISTORY   OF   NEW-YOKK. 


291 


very  good  scheme,  in  some  measure  to  repair  this 
shameful  misconduct,  was  afterwards  projected  by 
settling  the   lands   near  lake   George  with  loyal 
protestant    highlanders    from    Scotland.     Captain 
Laughlin  Carapbel,  encouraged  by  a  proclamation 
to  that  purpose,  came   over  in   1737,  and  ample 
promises  were  made  to  him.  He  went  upon  the  land, 
viewed  and  approved  it,  and  was  entreated  to  settle 
there  even  by  the  Indians,  who  were  taken  wi.'' 
his  highland  dress.     Mr.  Clarke,  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  promised  him,  in  a  printed  advertisement, 
the.  grant  of  30,000  acres  of  land,  free  from  all  but 
the  charges  of  the  survey  and  the  king's  quit  rent. 
Confiding  on  the  faith  of  the  government,  captain 
Campbel  went  home  to  Isla,  sold  his  estate,  and 
shortly  after    transported,    at   his    own    expense, 
eighty-three  protestant  families,  consisting  of  four 
hundred  and  twenty-three  adults,  besides  a  great 
number  of  children.  Private  faith  and  public  honour 
loudly  demanded  the  fair  execution  of  a  project 
so  expensive  to  the  undertaker  and  beneficial  to 
the  colony ;  but  it  unfortunately  dropped,  through 
tlie**6ordid  views  of  some  persons  in  power,  who 
aimed  at  a  share  in  the  intended  grant,  to  which 
Campbel,   who  was  a  man  of  spirit,  would   not 
consent. 

Captain  Campbel  afterwards  made  an  attempt  to 
redress  himself,  by  an  application  to  the  assembly 
here,  and  then  to  the  board  of  trade  in  England. 
The  first  proved  abortive,  and  sucli  were  the  diffi- 
culties attending  the  last,  that  he  left  his  colonists 
to  themselves,  and,  with  the  poor  remains  of  his 
])roken   fortune,,  purchased   a  small   farm  in   this 


Ut,, 

m 


■'-f 


292 


HISTORY   OP  NEW-TORK. 


province.  No  man  was  better  qualified  than  he  for 
the  business  he  had  engaged  in.  He  had  a  high 
sense  of  honour  and  a  good  understanding ;  was 
active,  loyal,  and  of  a  military  disposition:  for,  upon 
the  news  of  the  late  rebellion  in  Scotland,  he  went 
home,  fought  under  the  duke,  returned  to  his  family, 
and  soon  after  died,  leaving  a  widow  and  several 
children,  who  still  feel  the  consequences  of  his 
disappointments. 

Mr.  Van  Dam  finished  his  administration  on  the 
1st  of  August,   1732,  when  William   Cosby,  esq. 
arrived  with  a  commission  to  govern  this  and  the 
province  of  New-Jersey.  The  history  of  our  public 
transactions,  from  this  period  to  the  present  time,  is 
full  of  important  and  enterias.  ing  events,  which  I 
leave  others  to  relate.  A  very  uear  relation  to  the  au- 
thor had  so  great  a  conuei  n  in  the  public  controversies 
with  colonel  Cosby,  that  the  history  of  those  times 
will  be  better  received  from  a  more  disinterested 
pen.  To  suppress  truth  on  the  one  hand,  or  exag- 
gerate it  on  the  other,  are  both  inexcusable  faults, 
and  perhaps  it  would  be  difficult  for  me  to  avoid 
those  extremes.  Besides,  a  writer  who  exposes  the 
conduct  of  the  living,  will   inevitably  meet  with 
their  fury  and  resentment.  The  prudent  historian  of 
his  own  times  will  always  be  a  coward,  and  never 
give  fire  till  death  protects  him  from  the  malice  and 
stroke  of  his  enemy. 


''I 


APPENDIX. 


I  1 


r 
.1  ■ 

'hi 
I 


U 


'  \' 


m 


I 


•», 


APPENDIX. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  NEW-YORK. 


CHAPTER  I. 


A  GEOGRAPHICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  COUNTRY^ 

The  province  of  New-York,  at  present,  contains,  Long 
Island,  Staten  Island,  and  the  lands  on  the  east  side  of  Hud- 
son's river,  to  the  bounds  of  Connecticut.  From  the  division 
line  between  that  colony  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  north- 
ward, to  the  line  between  us  and  the  French,  we  claim  an 
extent  to  Connecticut  river.*    On  the  west  side  of  Hudson's 


li 


If 


*  The  grounds  of  this  claim  aro  contained  in  ttie  following  report  of  a  com- 
mittee of  council,  to  governor  Clinton,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1753,  which  was 
drawn  up  by  Mr.  Alexander. 

"Jlfaj/ 1'(  phase  yoier  Excellency, 

"  In  obedience  to  your  excellency's  order  in  council,  of  the  3d  day  of  July 
last,  referring  to  a  committee  thereof,  the  petitions  of  Robert  Livingston,  jun. 
esq.  and  of  the  owners  of  a  certain  tract  of  land  called  Westeiihook,  com- 
plaining of  new  claims  and  encroachments  made  upon  their  lands  by  the  inha- 
bitants of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  also  the  surveyor-general's  and  the  attorney- 
general's  reports  on  the  said  two  petitions :  the  committee  having  maturely 
weighed  and  considered  of  the  same,  humbly  beg  leave  to  report  to  your 
excellency ; 

"  1st.  That  they  apprehend  the  claims  of  Massachusetts  Bay  to  the  manor 
of  Livingston,  or  the  said  tract  of  land  called  Westenhook,  cannot  be  well 
founded;  because  they  find  that  the  Dutch  claimed  the  colony  of  New 
Netherland,  as  extending  from  Cape  Cod  to  Cape  Cornelius,  now  called  Cape 
Henlopen,  westward  of  Delaware  Bay,  along  the  sea-coast,  and  as  far  back  into 
the  country  as  any  of  the  rivers  witliin  those  limits  extend ;  and  that  they  were 


if 


29G 


APPENDIX. 


river,  from  (he  sea,  to  the  latitude  of  41°  lies  New-Jerse}  , 
The  line  of  partition  between  that  province  and  this,  from 
that  latitude  to  the  other  station  on  the  Delaware,  is  imset- 


i' 


actually  possessed  of  Connecticut  river,  long  before  any  otlier  European  people 
know  any  thing  of  the  exiHtcnce  of  such  a  river,  and  wore  not  only  possessed 
of  the  inoutli  of  it,  where  they  had  a  fort  and  garrison,  but  discovered  the  river 
above  a  hundred  miles  up,  had  their  people  trading  there,  and  purchased  of  the 
natives  almost  all  the  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  said  river. 

"2dly  That  governor  Stuyvesant,the  Dutch  governor  of  the  said  province,  by 
his  letter  dated  the  2d  of  September,  1 664,  new  stile,  in  answer  to  a  letter  from 
governor  Uichard  iN  icholls,  of  the  2()-30tli  August  preceding,  demanding  the 
surrender  of  all  the  forts  and  places  of  strength  possessed  by  the  Dutch,  under 
his  (governor  Stuyvesant's)  command,  writes  as  follows : — '  Moreover  it's  with- 
out dispute,  and  acknowledged  by  all  the  world,  that  our  predecessors,  by  virtue 
of  the  commission  and  patent  of  the  said  lords,  the  States  General,  have  with- 
out controul,  and  peaceably  (the  contrary  never  coming  to  our  knowledge) 
enjoyed  .Fort  Orange  about  forty-eight  or  fifty  years,  and  Manhatans  about 
forty-one  or  forty-two  years ;  the  South  river  forty  years,  and  the  Fresh  river 
about  thirty- six  years.'  Which  last  mentioned  river,  the  committee  find  to  bo 
the  same  that  is  now  called  Connecticut  river. 

"  3dly.  That  the  said  Dutch  governor  Stuy  vesant  did,  in  the  year  1664,  siuren- 
dcr  all  the  country  which  the  Dutch  did  then  possess  to  king  Charles  the  second, 
and  that  the  States  General  made  a  cession  thereof,  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  in 
the  year  1667:  that  the  Dutcli  reconquered  part  of  this  province  in  1673,  and 
surrendered  and  absolutely  yielded  it  to  king  Charles  the  second,  in  1673-4,  by 
tho  treaty  of  London ;  and  that  in  the  year  1674,  king  Charles  granted  to  the 
duke  of  York  all  the  land  between  Connecticut  river  and  Delaware  Bay ;  the 
whole  of  these  lands  being  part  of  the  former  colony  of  New  Netherland. 

"4th.  That  the  duke  of  York,  in  his  several  commissions  to  major  Edmund 
Andross,  on  the  Ist  of  July,  1674,  and  to  governor  Dongan  on  the  3(Hh  of  Sep- 
tember, 1682,  among  other  descriptions  of  tho  boundaries  of  this  province, 
mentions  all  the  land  from  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  river  to  the  east  side  of 
Delaware  Bay :  that  their  majesties,  king  William  and  queen  Mary,  by  their 
commission,  bearing  date  the  4th  day  of  January,  in  the  first  year  of  their  majes- 
ties' reign,  appointed  Henry  Sloughter  to  be  governor  of  the  province  of  New- 
York  and  territories  depending  thereon ;  the  boundaries  whereof  to  Connecticut 
river,  on  the  east,  wore  notorious  by  the  grant  and  other  commissions  aforesaid, 
and  many  other  grants  and  commissions  relating  to  the  same. 

"  5th.  That  the  committee  apprehend  Connecticut  river  continued  the  east 
bounds  of  this  province  until  the  28th  of  March,  1700,  when,  by  king  William's 
confirmation  of  an  agreement  between  this  province  and  ('onnecticut,  the 
western  bounds  of  that  colony  were  settled  at  twenty  miles  from  Hudson's  river ; 
and  they  cannot  find  any  other  alteration  in  the  eastern  bounds  of  this  province, 
and  have  no  reason  to  believe  any  other  was  made  before  or  since  that  time. 

"6th.  That  king  James  the  first,  by  letters  patent,  bearing  date  the  3d  of 
November,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  reign,  granted  unto  the  council  of  Ply- 
mouth, from  forty  to  forty-eight  degrees  of  north  lafitiide  inclusive,  in  which 


■■*4 


APPCNOIX. 


297 


east 


I'hicli 


tied.  Prom  thence,  wheresoever  it  may  be  fixed,  we  claim 
all  the  lands,  on  the  east  side  of  Delaware,  to  the  north 
line  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  all  the  territory,  on  both  sides  of 
the  Mohawks'  river,  and  westward  to  the  isthmus  at  Niagara : 
in  a  word,  all  the  country  belonging  to  the  crown  of  Great 

there  is  a  recital  to  tiiis  purpose:— ^Now  for  as  much  as  the  king  has  been  certainly 
given  to  understand,  by  divers  good  subjects,  that  have  for  these  many  years 
frequented  those  coasts  and  territories,  between  the  degrees  of  40°  and  48°,  tliat 
there  are  no  other  subjects  of  any  christian  king  or  state,  or  by  any  authority  from 
their  sovereigns,  lords,  or  princes,  actually  in  possession  of  any  tlie  said  lands  or 
precincts,  whereby  any  right,  claim,  interest,  or  title,  may  or  ought,  by  that 
means,  to  accrue  or  belong  to  them,'  Sic.  And  also  a  proviso  in  those  words : — 
*  Provided  always,  that  the  said  lands,  islands,  or  any  of  the  premises,  by  the 
said  letters  patent  intended  or  meant  to  be  granted,  were  not  then  actually  pos- 
sessed or  inhabited  by  any  other  christian  power  or  state.'  Which  patent  tlie 
committee  conceive  could  not  vest  any  thing  in  the  grantees,  by  reason  of  the 
said  recital  and  condition  upon  which  it  was  granted ;  part  of  the  premises  being 
then  actually  possessed  by  tlie  Dutch,  and  most  of  the  said  colony  of  New 
Netherland  being  within  the  bounds  thereof. 

"  7th.  That  the  council  of  Plymouth,  by  their  deed  dated  the  19th  of  March, 
in  the  third  year  of  king  Charles  the  first,  granted  to  Sir  Henry  Rosswell  and 
others,  part  of  what  was  supposed  te  be  granted  by  the  said  letters  patent,  which 
grant  from  the  said  council  of  Plymouth  the  committee  take  to  be  void,  as  founded 
upon  the  said  void  patent. 

"  8th.  That  he,  the  said  Sir  Henry  Rosswell,  and  others,  obtained  a  grant 
and  confirmation  thereof  from  the  crown,  under  the  great  seal  of  England, 
dated  the  4th  of  March,  in  the  fourth  year  of  king  Charles  the  first,  within 
which  grant  and  confirmation  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  is  included, 
which  grant  and  confirmation  was  adjudged  void  in  the  high  court  of  chancery 
of  England,  in  the  year  1684.  And  the  committee  are  of  opinion,  that  nothing 
to  the  westward  of  Connecticut  river  could  pass  by  that  grant  and  confirmation ; 
for  that  his  majesty  could  not  have  had  an  intention  to  grant  the  same,  it  being 
then  possessed  by  the  Dutch  as  before  mentioned. 

"  9th.  That  the  committc  conceive  the  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
can  claim  nothing  at  present,  but  what  is  granted  them  by  tlieir  last  charter  in 
1691 ;  all  their  other  grants  and  charters  bemg  either  void  of  themselves,  or 
declared  so  in  the  chancery  of  England. 

"  10th.  That  the  bounds  granted  by  this  charter  are  westward  as  far  as  the 
colonies  of  Rhode  Island,  ('onnecticut,  and  the  Narraganset  country :  which 
words  being  in  the  case  of  a  grant  from  the  crown,  the  committee  conceive  can- 
not extend  their  bounds  farther  than  to  Connecticut  colony,  and  therefore 
not  to  Connecticut  River,  and  much  less  to  the  westward  of  it ;  because 
Connecticut  itself  at  the  time  of  that  charter  did  not,  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  crown,  extend  westward  of  that  river ;  nor  did  till  nine  years  after, 
when,  by  tlie  royal  approbation,  the  agreement  between  this  province  and 
that  colony  taking  place,  I'whicli  was  not  to  he  in  force  till  such  appro- 

roL.  r.— -38 


:I1 
1| 

(II 


f 


\' 


289 


APPENDIX. 


Britain,  not  already  granted ;  for  we  are  to  consider  New- 
York  among  her  sister  colonies,  to  borrow  a  law  phrase,  as 
a  residuary  legatee. 

Hence  we  have,  from  the  beginning,  been  exposed  to  con« 
troversies  about  limits.      The   New-Jersey  claim  includes 


I 


U'\ 


bation)  the  bounds  of  that  colony  were  settled  aa  is  before  mentioned :  and 
the  committee  conceive  it  to  be  against  reason  to  suppose  that  the  crown 
intended,  by  the  said  charter,  to  grant  any  part  of  the  province  of  New-York. 
under  the  then  immediate  government  of  the  crown,  without  express  mention 
thereof  in  the  charter,  and  without  notification  thereof  to  Henry  Sloughter, 
then  governor  of  this  province,  that  the  crown  had  granted  such  a  part  of  what 
was  before  within  his  jurisdiction  by  their  majesties'  commission  aforesaid  to  him. 

•♦  11  til.  That  both  the  patents  under  which  the  petitioners  claim,  the  com- 
mittee find  were  granted  under  the  great  seal  of  this  province ;  that  of  the  ma- 
nor of  Livingston  in  1686,  and  that  of  Westenhook  in  1735.  And  that  the  lands 
contained  in  the  said  giants  arc,  the  committee  apprehend,  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  this  province,  they  being  both  west  of  Connecticut  river. 
'  "  12th.  That  the  committee  are  of  opinion,  the  attempts  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  to  make  encroachments  upon  any  lands  granted  by  let- 
ters patent  under  the  great  seal  of  New- York,  or  upon  any  lands  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  this  province,  are  disrespectful  to  his  majesty's  authority,  tend  to 
the  disturbance  of  the  subjects  of  this  province,  and  may  be  the  cause  of  great 
mischiefs  and  disorders. 

^  13th.  That  the  steps  taken  by  tlio  said  inhabitants,  even  were  the  bounds 
of  this  provmce  doubtful  and  tmsettled,  are  intrusions,  and  disrespectful  to  his 
majesty's  authority. 

"  And  lastly.  The  committee  are  of  opinion,  that  a  copy  of  so  much  of  this 
report  as  shall  be  approved  of  by  your  excellency  and  the  council,  bo  transmitted 
to  the  lieutenant-governor  of  the  province  o<  Massachusetts  Bay,  requesting 
that  he  would  take  effectual  measures  that  all  encroachments  and  disturbances, 
by  the  people  of  that  colony,  on  his  majesty's  subjects  of  this  province,  be  stayed ; 
and  that  he  would  lay  this  matter  before  the  next  general  court,  that  they  may 
inform  your  excellency  by  what  warrant  they  claim  or  exercise  any  right  to  soil 
or  jurisdiction  westward  of  Connecticut  river ;  that  the  same  may  be  considered, 
and  such  steps  taken  towards  removing  all  causes  of  encroachments,  or  distur- 
bances, for  the  future,  as  may  be  agreeable  to  equity  and  justice,  to  the  end  that 
good  understanding  may  be  preserved,  which  ought  to  subsist  between  fellow 
subjects  and  neighbouring  provinces. 

"  All  which  is  nevertheless  humbly  submitted, 
"  by  order  of  tlie  committee, 

"JAMES  DE  LAN CEY, Chairman." 

The  government  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  never  exhibited  tlie  reasons  of 
their  claim,  in  answer  to  this  report,  but  continued  their  encroachments :  and  in 
the  spring,  1755,  surveyed  and  sold  lands  lying  several  miles  west  of  the  eastern 
extent  of  Iho  manor  of  Livingston  and  the  patent  of  Claverack. 


.''ar 


APPENDIX. 


999 


several  hundred  thousand  acres,  and  has  not  a  little  impeded 
the  settlement  of  the  colony.  The  dispute  with  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  is  stiP  more  important,  and,  for  several  years 
past,  occasioned  ve._  considerable  commotions.  The  New- 
Hampshire  pretensions  have,  as  yet,  exposed  us  to  no  great 
trouble.  But  when  all  those  claims  are  settled,  a  new  con- 
troversy will  probably  commence  with  the  proprietaries  of 
Pennsylvania. 

This  province  was,  in  1691,  divided  by  an  act  of  assembly, 
into  twelve  counties,  which  I  shall  describe  in  their  order. 


THE  CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  NEW-YORK. 

The  city  of  New-York  at  first  included  only  the  island 
called  by  the  Indians  Manhatans ;  Manning's  Island,  the 
two  Barn  Islands  and  the  three  Oyster  Islands  were  in  the 
county ;  but  the  limits  of  the  city  have  since  been  augmented 
by  charter.  The  island  is  very  narrow,  not  a  mile  wide  at  a 
mediiun,  and  about  fourteen  miles  in  length.  The  south- 
west point  projects  into  a  fine  spacious  bay,  nine  miles  long, 
and  about  four  in  breadth ;  at  the  confluence  of  (he  waters 
of  Hudson's  river  and  the  strait  between  Long-Island  and 
the  northern  shore.  The  Narrows,  at  the  south  end  of  the 
bay,  is  scarce  two  miles  wide,  and  opens  the  ocean  to  full 
view.  The  passage  up  to  New-York  from  Sandy  Hook,  a 
point  that  extends  farthest  into  the  sea,  is  safe,  and  not 
above  five  and  twenty  miles  in  length.  The  common  navi- 
gation is  between  the  east  and  west  banks,  in  two  or  three 
and  twenty  feet  water.  But  it  is  said  that  an  eighty  gun 
ship  may  be  brought  up,  through  a  narrow,  winding,  unfre- 
quented channel,  between  the  north  end  of  the  east  bank 
and  Coney  Island. 

The  city  has,  in  reality,  no  natural  basin  or  harbour- 
The  ships  lie  off  in  the  road,  on  the  east  side  of  t  he  town, 
which  is  docked  out,  and  better  built  than  the  west  side, 
because  the  freshets  in  Hudson's  river  fill  it  in  some  winters 
with  ice. 

The  citv  of  New- York,  ns  I  hove  eli^ewhere  had  occasion 


w* 


ki 


i.i>*«»f« 


.iOO 


APPENDIX. 


(o  mention,  "  consists  of  about  two  thousand  five  hundred 
buildings.  It  is  a  mile  in  length,  and  not  above  half  thai, 
in  breadth.  Such  is  its  figure,  its  centre  of  business,  and 
the  situation  of  the  houses,  that  the  mean  cartage,  from  one 
part  to  another,  does  not  exceed  above  one  quarter  of  a  mile, 
than  which  nothing  can  be  more  advantageous  to  a  trading 
city." 

It  is  thought  to  be  as  healthy  a  spot  as  any  in  the  world. 
The  east  and  south  parts,  in  general,  are  low,  but  the  rest 
is  situated  on  a  dry,  elevated,  soil.  The  streets  are  irregu- 
lar, but  being  paved  with  round  pebbles  are  clean,  and  lined 
with  well  built  brick  houses,  many  of  which  are  covered 
with  tiled  roofs. 

No  part  of  America  is  supplied  with  markets  abounding 
with  greater  plenty  and  variety.  We  have  beef,  pork,  mut- 
ton, poultry,  butter,  wild  fowl,  venison,  fish,  roots,  and  herbs, 
of  all  kinds,  in  their  si  i.sons.  Our  oysters  are  a  considerable 
article  in  the  support  of  the  poor.  Their  beds  are  within 
view  of  the  town ;  a  fleet  of  two  hundred  siiiall  craft  are 
often  seen  there,  at  a  time,  when  the  weather  is  mild  in 
winter ;  and  this  single  article  is  computed  to  be  worth  an- 
nually 10  or  jC  12,000. 

This  city  is  the  metropolis  and  grand  mart  of  the  province, 
and,  by  its  commodious  situation,  commands  also  all  the 
*rade  of  'iie  western  part  of  Connecticut  and  that  of  east 
Jersey.  "  No  season  prevents  our  ships  from  launching  out 
into  the  ocean.  During  *he  greatest  severity  of  winter,  an 
equal,  unrestrained  activity,  runs  through  all  ranks,  orders, 
and  employments." 

Upon  the  south-west  point  of  the  city  stands  the  fort,  which 
is  a  square  with  four  bastions.  Within  the  walls  is  the  house 
in  which  our  governors  usually  reside  ;  and  opposite  to  it 
brick  barracks,  built  formerly  for  the  independent  companies. 
The  governor's  house  is  in  height  three  stories,  and  fronts 
to  the  west ;  having,  from  the  second  story,  a  fine  prospect 
of  the  bay  and  the  Jersey  shore.  At  the  south  end  there 
was  formerly  a  chapel,  but  this  was  burnt  down  in  the  negro 


ArrpKuix. 


SO' 


ronspiracy  ol  ili  pring-,  1  i\.  A*  rdmg  to  foveiuor 
Burnet's  observations,  this  fort  stand:  likelatit  4»of40' 
42'  north. 

Below  the  walls  of  the  garrison,  n^u   the  watr  ,  we  have 
lately  raised  a  line  of  fortificationu,  which  coiuinands  the 
entrance  into  the  eastern  road  and  the  mouth  of  Hudson's 
river.     This  battery  is  built  of  stone,  and  the  merlons  con- 
sist  of  cedar  joists,  filled  in  with  earth.     It  mounts  ninety- 
two  cannon,  and  these  are  all  the  works  we  have  to  defend 
us.     About  six  furlongs  south-east  of  the  fort,  lies  Notten 
Island,  containing  about  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  reserved  by  an  act  of  assembly  as  a  sort  of 
demesne  for  the  governors,  upon  which  it  is  proposed  to  erect 
a  strong  castle,  because  an  enemy  might  from  thence  easily 
bombard  the  city,  without  being  annoyed  either  by  our  bat- 
tery or  the  fort.     During  the  late  war,  a  line  of  palisadoes 
was  run  from  Hudson's  to  the  East  river,  at  the  other  end 
of  the  city,  with  block-houses  at  small  distances.     The 
greater  part  of  these  still  remain  as  a  monument  of  our  folly, 
which  cost  the  province  about  jC8,000. 

The  inhabitants  of  New-York  are  a  mixed  people,  but 
mostly  descended  from  the  original  Dutch  planters.  There 
are  still  two  churches  in  which  religious  worship  is  perfotined 
in  that  language.  The  old  building  is  of  stone  and  ill  built, 
ornamented  within  by  a  small  organ  loft  and  brass  branches. 
The  new  church  is  a  high,  heavy  edifice,  has  a  very  exten- 
sive area,  and  was  completed  in  1729.  It  has  no  galleries, 
and  yet  will  perhaps  contain  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred 
auditors.  The  steeple  of  this  church  affords  a  most  beautiful 
prospect,  both  of  the  city  beneath  and  the  surrounding 
country.  The  Dutch  congregation  is  more  numerous  than 
any  other,  but  as  the  language  becomes  disused,  it  is  much 
diminished ;  and  unless  they  change  their  worship  into  the 
English  tongue,  must  soon  suffer  a  total  dissipation.  They 
have  at  present  two  ministers — the  Reverend  Messieurs 
Ritzma  and  De  Ronde,  who  are  both  strict  Calvinists. 
Their  church  was  incorporated  on  the  Uth  of  May,  1696, 


\. 


S02 


AfrHMitX. 


I 

n 


by  the  name  of  The  Jfinitter,  Elders,  and  Deaems,  of  the 
R^ormed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of  the  City  of  JW10-  KorAr, 
and  its  estate,  after  the  expiration  of  sundry  long  leases, 
will  bo  worth  a  very  great  income.* 

All  the  Low  Dutch  congregations,  in  this  and  the  province 
of  New  Jersey,  worship  after  the  manner  of  the  reformed 
churches  in  the  United  Provinces.  With  respect  to  govern- 
ment, they  are  in  principle  presbyterians ;  but  yet  hold 
themselves  in  subordination  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam, 
who  sometimes  permit  and  at  other  times  refuse  them  the 
powers  of  ordination.  Some  of  their  ministers  consider  such 
m  subjection  as  anti-constitutional,  and  hence,  in  several  of 
their  late  annual  conventions  at  New-York,  called  the  Coetus, 
some  debates  have  arisen  amongst  them ;  the  majority  being 
inclined  to  erect  a  Classis,  or  ecclesiastical  judicatory,  here 
for  the  government  of  their  churches.  Those  of  their  minis- 
ters who  are  natives  of  Europe,  are,  in  general,  averse  to 
the  project.  The  expense  attending  the  ordination  of  their 
candidates  in  Holland,  and  the  reference  of  their  disputes 
to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  is  very  considerable  ;  and  with 
what  consequences  the  interruption  of  their  correspondence 
with  the  European  Dutch  would  be  attended,  in  case  of  a 
war,  well  deserves  their  consideration. 

There  are,  besides  the  Dutch,  two  episcopal  churches  in 
this  city,  upon  the  plan  of  the  established  church  in  South 
Britain.  Trinity  church  was  built  in  1696,  and  afterwards 
enlarged  in  1737.  It  stands  very  pleasantly  upon  the  banks 
of  Hudson's  river,  and  has  a  large  cemetery  on  each  side, 
inclosed  in  the  front  by  a  painted  paled  fence.  Before  it  a 
long  walk  is  railed  off  from  the  Broadway,  the  pleasantest 
street  of  any  in  the  whole  town.  This  building  is  about 
one  hundred  and  forty-eight  feet  long,  including  the  tower 
and  chancel,  and  seventy-two  feet  in  breadth.  The  steeple 
is  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  in  height,  and  over  the 
door  facing  the  river  is  the  following  inscription  :— 

*  Their  ohuter  w«8  confirmed  by  a  late  act  of  aaenbly  ratified  by  hia  ma* 
j«rty,ifrhich  recitee  tho  Vlllth  article  of  the  mrrender  in  1664. 


VPfUMUIJL. 


SU3 


PER  JlJfQUSTJIM. 

"Hoc  Trinitatis  Teinplum  fundatuni  est  Anno  Regni 
illustriBsimi,  Hupremi,  Domini  Oulielnii  lertii,  Dei  Oratil, 
Angliae,  Scotis,  Franciae  et  Hiberniae  Regis,  Fidei  Defenao- 
lis,  &c.  Octavo,  Annoq  \  Domini  1696. 

"Ac  voiuntari&  quorundam  Contributione  ac  Donia  ^di- 
ficatum,  maxima  autem,  dilecti  Regis  Chiliarchai  Bcnjamini 
Fletcher,  hujua  Provinciae  strateeci  et  Imperatoris,  Munifi- 
centiA  animatum  et  auctum,  cujus  tempore  raoderaminie, 
hujus  Civitatifl  incolae,  Religionem  protestanlem  Ecclesia 
Anglicanee,  ut  secundum  Legem  nunc  stabilite  profitente^ 
quodam  Diplomate,  sub  Bigillo  Provincin  incorporati  sunt, 
atque  alias  Plurimas,  ex  Re  sufc  familiari,  Donationes  notiu 
biles  eidem  dedit.** 

The  church  is, within,  ornamented  beyond  any  other  place 
of  public  worship  amongst  us.  The  head  of  the  chancel  is 
adorned  with  an  altar-piece,  and  opposite  to  it,  at  the  other 
end  of  the  building,  is  the  organ.  The  tops  of  the  pillars, 
which  support  the  galleries,  are  decked  with  the  gilt  busts 
of  angels  winged.  From  the  ceiUng  are  suspended  two 
glass  branches,  and  on  the  walls  hang  the  arms  of  some  of 
its  princif"il  benefactors.  The  allies  are  pav^d  with  flat 
stones. 

The  present  rector  of  this  church  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  Henry 
Barclay,  formerly  a  missionary  among  the  Mohawks,  who 
receives  a  jCIOO  a  yeai',  levied  upon  all  the  other  clergy  and 
laity  in  the  city,  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  assembly  procured  by 
governor  Fletcher.  He  is  assisted  by  Dr.  Johnson  and  Mr. 
Auchmuty. 

This  congregation,  partly  by  the  arrival  of  strangers  from 
Europe,  but  principally  by  proselytes  from  the  Dutch  church- 
es, is  become  so  numerous,  that  though  the  old  building  will 
contain  two  thousand  hearers,  yet  a  new  one  was  erected  in 
1752.  This,  called  St.  George's  chapel,*  is  a  very  neat 
edifice,  faced  with  hewn  stone  and  tiled.     The  steeple  is 


,■( 


'  The  length,  exclusive  of  the  chancel,  92  feet,  and  its  breadth  2d  feet  Iqm  . 


3U4 


APPKNDIX. 


i  - 


( 
1 1 


lofty*  but  irregular ;  and  its  situation  in  a  new,  crowded, 
and  ill-built  part  of  the  town. 

The  rector,  churchwardena,  and  vestrymen  of  Trinity 
church  are  incorporated  by  an  act  of  assembly,  which 
grants  the  two  last  the  advowson  or  right  of  presentation ; 
but  enacts,  that  the  rector  shall  be  instituted  and  inducted 
in  a  manner  most  agreeable  to  the  king's  instructions  to  the 
governor,  and  the  canonical  right  of  the  bishop  of  London. 
Their  worship  is  conducted  after  the  mode  of  the  church  of 
England;  and,  with  respect  to  government,  they  are  empow- 
ered to  make  rules  and  orders  for  themselves,  being,  if  I  may 
use  the  expression,  an  independent,  ecclesiastical  corporation. 

The  revenue  of  this  church  is  restricted,  by  an  act  of 
assembly,  to  jC500  per  annum ;  but  it  is  possessed  of  a  real 
estate,  at  the  north  end  of  the  town,  which  having  been 
lately  divided  into  lots  and  let  to  farm,  will,  in  a  few  years, 
produce  a  much  greater  income. 

The  presbyterians  increasing  after  lord  Cornbury*s  return 
to  England,  called  Mr.  Anderson,  a  Scotch  minister,  to  the 
pastoral  charge  of  their  congregation ;  and  Dr.  John  Nicol, 
Patrick  M'Night,  Oilbert  Livingston,  and  Thomas  Smith 
purchased  a  piece  of  ground  and  founded  a  church,  in  1719. 
Two  years  afterwards  they  petitioned  colonel  Schuyler,  who 
had  then  the  chief  command,  for  a  charter  of  incorporation 
to  secure  their  estate  for  religious  worship,  upon  the  plan  of 
the  church  in  North-Britain ;  but  were  disappointed  in  their 
expectations,  through  the  opposition  of  the  episcopal  party. 
They  shortly  after  renewed  their  request  to  governor  Burnet, 
who  referred  the  petition  to  his  council.  The  episcopalians 
again  violently  opposed  the  grant,  and  the  governor,  in  1724, 
wrote  upon  the  subject  to  the  lords  of  trade  for  their  direction. 
Counsellor  West,  who  was  then  consulted,  gave  his  opinion 
in  these  words :  "  Upon  consideration  of  the  several  acts  of 
xmiformity,  that  have  passed  in  Great  Britain,  I  am  of 
opiiiion  that  they  do  not  extend  to  New-York,  and  con?p- 


*  One  hnndrei!  and  Beventy-fivo  feet. 


APPENDIX. 


305 


queMtly  an  act  of  toleration  is  of  no  use  in  that  province ; 
and  therefore,  as  there  is  no  provincial  act  for  uniformity, 
according  to  the  church  of  England,  I  am  of  opinion,  that,  by 
law,  such  patent  of  incorporation  may  be  granted,  as  by  the 
petition  is  desired.     Richard  West,  20th  August,  1724." 

After  several  years  solicitation  for  a  charter  in  vain,  and 
fearful  that  those  who  obstructed  such  a  reasonable  request 
would  watch  an  opportunity  to  give  them  a  more  effectual 
wound ;  those  among  the  presbyterians,  who  were  invested 
with  the  fee  simple  of  the  church  and  ground,  "  conjfyed 
it,  on  the  16th  of  March,  1730,  to  the  moderator  of  the 
general  assembly  of  the  church  of  Scotland,  and  the 
Commission  thereof,  the  moderator  of  the  presbytery  of 
Edinburgh,  the  principal  of  the  college  of  Edinburgh, 
the  professor  of  divinity  therein,  and  the  procurator  and 
agent  of  the  church  of  Scotland,  for  the  time  being,  and 
their  successors  in  office,  as  a  committee  of  the  general 
assembly."  On  the  15th  of  August,  1732,  the  church  of 
Scotland,  by  an  instrument  under  the  seal  of  the  general 
assemb  Y,  and  signed  by  Mr.  Niel  Campbell,  principal  of 
the  university  of  Glasgow,  and  moderator  of  the  general 
assembly  and  commission  thereof ;  Mr.  James  Nesbit,  one  of 
the  ministers  of  the  gospel  at  Edinburgh,  moderator  of  the 
presbytery  of  Edinburgh  ;  Mr.  William  Hamilton,  principal 
of  the  university  of  Edinburgh  ;  Mr.  James  Smith,  professor 
of  divinity  therein  ;  and  Mr.  William  Grant,  advocate  procu- 
rator for  the  church  of  Scotland  for  the  time  being  ;  pursuant 
to  an  act  of  the  {general  assembly,  dated  the  8th  of  May, 
1731,  did  declare,  "That,  notwithstanding  the  aforesaid  right 
made  to  them  and  their  successors  in  office,  they  were  desirous 
that  the  aforesaid  building  and  edifice  and  appurtenances 
thereof,  be  preserved  for  the  pious  and  religious  purposes  for 
which  the  same  were  designed ;  and  that  it  should  be  free 
and  lawful  to  the  presbyterians  then  residing,  or  that  should 
at  any  time  thereafter  be  resident  in,  or  near,  the  aforesaid 
city  of  New-York,  in  America,  or  others  joining  with  them 
to  convene,  in  the  foresaid  church,  for  the  worship  of  God 

VOL.  T. — 39 


\' 


- >*■■ 


J  .J, 


306 


APPENDIX. 


! :  i 


/- 


/:     1 


in  all  the  parts  thereof,  and  for  the  dispensation  of  all  gospel 
ordinances ;  and  generally  to  use  and  occupy  the  said  church 
and  its  appurtenances,  fully  and  freely  in  all  times  coming, 
they  supporting  and  maintaining  the  edifice  and  appurte- 
nances at  their  own  charge." 

Mr.  Anderson  was  succeeded  in  April,  1727,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  a  man  of  polite  breeding,  pure 
morals,  and  warm  devotion  ;  under  whose  incessant  labours 
the  congregation  greatly  increased,  and  was  enabled  to  erect 
the%Ksent  edifice  in  1 748.  It  is  built  of  stone,  railed  off 
from  tne  street,  is  eighty  feet  long,  and  in  breadth  sixty. 
The  steeple,  raised  on  the  south-west  end,  is  in  height  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  feet.  In  the  front  to  the  street,  be- 
tween two  long  windows,  is  the  following  inscription,  gilt 
and  cut  in  a  black  slate  six  feet  in  length  : — 

Auspicanto  Deo 

Hanc  ^dem 

Cultui  divino  sacram  in  perpetuum  celebrando, 

A.  D.  MDCCXIX. 

Primo  fundatam ; 

Denuo  penitus  reparatam  et  ampliorem  et  omatioreni, 

AD.  MDCCXLVIII 

Constructam, 

Neo-Eborancenses  Presbyteriani 

In  suum  et  suorum  Usum 

Condentes, 

In  hac  votiva  Tabula 

DDDQ. 

*  #  # 

Concordift,  Amore 

Necnon  Fidei  Cultus  et  Morum 

Puritate 

BufTulta,  claritisq ;  exomata, 

Annuente  Christo, 
Longum  perduret  in  ^vum. 

Mr.  Alexander  Gumming,  a  young  gentleman  of  learning 
and  singular  penetration,  was  chosen  colleague  to  Mr.  Pem- 


(  >  ^ 


APPENDIX. 


307 


'         J 


beiton,  in  1750;  but  both  were  dismissed,  at  their  request, 
about  three  years  afterwards  ;  the  former,  through  indisposi- 
tion, and  the  latter,  on  account  of  trifling  contentions  kindled 
by  the  bigotry  and  ignorance  of  the  lower  sort  of  people. 
These  debates  continued  until  they  were  closed,  in  April, 
1 756,  by  a  decision  of  the  synod,  to  which  almost  all  our 
presbyterian  churches,  in  this  and  the  southern  provinces,  are 
subject.  The  congregation  consists  i^t  present  of  twelve  or 
fourteen  hundred  souls,  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  David  Bostwick,  who  was  lately  translated  from 
Jamaica  to  New-York  by  a  synodical  decree.  He  is  a 
gentleman  of  a  mild,  catholic  disposition  ;  and  being  a  man 
of  piety,  prudence,  and  zeal,  conflines  himself  entirely  to  the 
proper  business  of  his  function.  In  the  art  of  preaching 
he  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  clergymen  in  these  parts. 
His  discourses  are  methodical,  sound,  and  pathetic ;  in  sen- 
timent, and  in  point  of  diction,  singularly  ornamented.  He 
delivers  himself  without  notes,  and  yet  with  great  ease  and 
fluency  of  expression;  and  performs  every  part^f  divine 
worship  with  a  striking  solemnity.  |p 

The  French  church,  by  the  contentions  in  1724,  and  the 
disuse  of  the  language,  is  now  reduced  to  an  inconsiderable 
handful.  The  building  which  is  of  stone  nearly  a  square,* 
plain  both  within  and  without.  It  is  fenced  from  the  street, 
has  a  steeple  and  a  bell,  the  latter  of  which  was  the  gift  of 
Sir  Henry  Asshurst  of  London.  On  the  front  of  the  church 
is  the  following  inscription : — 

iEDES  SACRA 

GALLOR.  PROT. 

REFORM. 

FVNDA.     1704. 
FENITVS 

REPAR.  1741. 


1 1  ^' 

'1 

n  1] 

1 

1      i 

\ 

. 

:    \ 

, 

s 

1 

!    '■ 


7  i  ■:] 


P\' 


1  1 
,  \ 

:      i 

if 


The  present  minister,  Mr.  Carle,  is  a  native  of  France, 
and  succeeded  Mr.  Rou  in  1 754.     He  bears  an  irreproachable 


rl 


The  area  is  seventy  feet  long,  and  in  breadth  fifty. 


i^"^*^-- 


..  -•.LjL.:l.SS>a»MMSL..i,i 


'I  i 


308 


APPENDIX. 


r 


1 ' 


|i 


character,  is  very  intent  upon  his  studies,  preaches  moderate 
Calvinism,  and  speaks  with  propriety,  both  of  pronunciation 
and  gesture. 

The  German  Lutheran  churches  are  two.  Both  their 
places  of  worship  are  small:  one  of  them  has  a  cupola  and  bell. 

The  quakers  have  a  meeting-house,  and  the  Moravians, 
a  new  sect  amongst  us,  a  church,  consisting  principally  of 
female  proselytes  from  other  societies.  Their  service  is  in 
the  English  tongue. 

The  anabaptists  assemble  at  a  small  meeting-house,  but 
have  as  yet  no  regular  settled  congregation.  The  jews,  who 
arc  not  inconsiderable  for  their  numbers,  worsV'p  in  a  syna- 
gogue erected  in  a  very  private  part  of  the  town,  plain  with- 
out, but  very  neat  within. 

The  city  hall  is  a  strong  brick  building,  two  stories  in 
height,  in  the  shape  of  an  oblong,  winged  with  one  at  each 
end,  at  right  angles  with  the  first.  The  floor  below  is  an 
open  walk,  except  two  jails  and  the  jailor's  apartments. 
The  cellMUinderneath  is  a  dungeon,  and  the  garret  above  a 
common  pRon.  This  edifice  is  erected  in  a  place  where 
four  streets  meet,  and  fronts,  to  the  south-west,  one  of  the 
most  spacious  streets  in  town.  The  eastern  wing,  in  the 
second  story,  consists  of  the  assembly  chamber,  a  lobby, 
and  a  small  room  for  the  speaker  of  the  house.  The  west 
wing,  on  the  same  floor,  forms  the  council  room  and  a  library ; 
and  in  the  space  between  the  ends  the  supreme  court  is  ordi- 
narily held. 

The  library  consists  of  a  thousand  volumes,  which  were 
bequeathed  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,  by  Dr.  Millington,  rector  of  Newington.  Mr. 
Humphrys,  the  society's  secretary,  in  a  letter  of  the  23d  of 
September,  1728,  informed  governor  Montgomerie,  that  the 
society  intended  to  place  these  books  in  New-York,  intending 
to  establish  a  library  for  the  use  of  the  clergy  and  gentlemen 
of  this  and  the  neighbouring  governments  of  Connecticut, 
New-Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  upon  giving  security  to  re- 
turn them  ;  and  desired  the  governor  to  recommend  it  to  the 


\ 


J. 


■  >•■  0m^- 


;^« 


APPENDIX. 


309 


assembly  to  provide  a  place  to  reposite  the  books,  and  to  con- 
cur in  an  act  for  the  preservation  of  them  and  others  that 
might  be  added.  Governor  Montgomerie  sent  the  letter  to 
the  assembly,  who  ordered  it  to  be  laid  before  the  city  corpo- 
ration, and  the  latter,  in  June,  1729,  agreed  to  provide  a  proper 
repository  for  the  books,  which  were  accordingly  soon  after 
sent  over.  The  greatest  part  of  them  are  upon  theological 
subjects,  and  through  the  carelessness  of  the  keepers  many 
are  missing. 

In  1754,  a  set  of  gentlemen  undertook  to  carry  about  a 
subscription  towards  raising  a  public  library,  and  in  a  few 
days  collected  near  ir600,  which  were  laid  out  in  purchas- 
ing about  seven  hundred  volumes  of  new^,  well-chosen  books. 
Every  subscriber  upon  payment  of  £6  principal,  and  the 
annual  sum  of  ten  shillings,  is  entitled  to  the  use  of  these 
books.  His  right  by  the  articles  is  assignable,  and  for  non- 
compliance with  them  may  be  forfeited.  The  care  of  this 
library,  is  committed  to  twelve  trustees,  annually  elected  by 
the  subscribers,  on  the  last  Tuesday  of  April,  who  are 
restricted  from  making  any  rules  repugnant  to  the  funda-. 
mental  subscription.  This  is  the  beginning  of  a  library, 
which  in  process  of  time  will  probably  become  vastly  rich 
and  voluminous ;  and  it  would  be  very  proper  for  the  com" 
pany  to  have  a  charter  for  its  security  and  encouragement. 
The  books  are  d'^posited  in  the  same  room  with  those  given 
by  the  society. 

Besides  the  city  hall,  there  belong  to  the  corporation,  a 
large  alms-house,  or  place  of  correction,  and  the  exchange, 
in  the  latter  of  which  there  is  a  large  room  raised  upon  brick 
arches,  generally  used  for  public  entertainments,  concerts  of 
music,  balls,  and  assemblies.  .  ^      . 

Though  the  city  was  put  under  the  government  of  a 
mayor,  &c.  in  1665,  it  was  not  regularly  incorporated  till 
1686.  Since  that  time,  several  charters  have  been  passed: 
the  last  was  granted  by  governor  Montgomerie  on  the  15th 
of  January  1730. 


■    Ai 


'  'I 


^ 


i  \ 


•   i 


!♦♦ 


/• 


I  I 


310 


APPENDIX. 


It  is  divided  into  seven  wards,  and  is  under  the  govern- 
ment of  a  mayor,  recorder,  seven  aldermen,  and  as  many 
assistants,  or  common  councilmen.     The  mayor,  a  sheriff, 
and  coroner  are  annually  appointed  by  the  governor.     The 
recorder  has  a  patent  during  pleasure.       The  aldermen, 
assistants,  assessors,  and  collectors  are  annually  elected  by 
the  freemen  and  freeholders  of  the  respective  wards.     The 
mayor  has  the  sole  appointment  of  a  deputy,  and,  together 
with  four  aldermen,  may  appoint  a  chamberlain.      The 
mayor  or  recorder,  four  aldermen,  and  as  many  assistants, 
form  *•  the  common  council  of  the  city  of  New- York ;"  and 
this  body,  by  a  majority  of  voices,  hath  power  to  make  by- 
laws for  the  government  of  the  city,  which  are  binding  only 
for  a  year,  unless  confirmed  by  the  governor  and  council. 
They  have  many  other  privileges  relating  to  ferriages,  mar- 
kets, fairs,  the  assize  of  bread,  wine,  &c.  and  the  licensing 
and  regulation  of  tavern  keepers,  cartage,  and  the  like.   The 
mayor,  his  deputy,  the  recorder,  and  aldermen  are  constituted 
justices  of  the  peace ;  and  may  hold  not  only  a  court  of 
record  ouce  a  week  to  take  cognizance  of  all  civil  causes, 
but  also  a  cou^'t  of  general  quarter  sessions  of  the  peace. 
They  have  a  common  clerk,  commissioned  by  the  governor, 
who  enjoys  an  appointment  worth  about  four  or  five  hundred 
pounds  per  annum.     The  annual  revenue  of  the  corporation 
is  near  two  thousand  pounds.     The  standing  militia  of  the 
island  consists  of  about  2,300  men,*  and  the  city  has  in 
reserve,  a  thousand  stand  of  arms  for  seamen,  the  poor  and 
others,  in  case  of  an  invasion. 

The  north-eastern  part  of  New- York  island  is  inhabited 
principally  by  Dutch  farmers,  who  have  a  small  village  there 
called  Harlem,  pleasantly  situated  on  a  flat  cultivated  for 
the  city  markets. 


*  The  whole  number  of  the  inhabitants  exclusive  of  females  above  sixty,  ac- 
cording to  a  list  returned  to  the  governor  in  the  spring  1 75G,  amounted  to  10,466 
whites,  and  2^75  negroes ;  but  that  account  is  erroneous.  It  is  most  probable 
that  there  are  in  the  city  15,000  souls. 


n  >-- 


APPENDIX. 


su 


WEST-CHESTER. 

This  county  is  large,  and  in-'t  des  all  the  land  beyond  the 
island  of  Manhatans  along  the  sound,  to  the  Connecticut 
line,  which  is  its  eastern  boundary.  It  extends  northward 
to  the  middle  of  the  highlands,  and  westward  to  Hudson'^ 
river.  A  great  part  of  this  county  is  contained  in  the  manors 
of  Philipsburgh,  Pelham,  Fordham,  and  Courtlandt,  the  last 
of  which  has  the  privilege  of  sending  a  representative  to  the 
general  assenlbly.  The  county  is  tolerably  settled ;  the 
lands  are  in  general  rough  but  fertile,  and  therefore  the 
farmers  run  principally  on  grazing.  It  has  several  towns, 
East-Chester,  West-Chester,  New-Rochelle,  Rye,  Bedford, 
and  North-Castle.  The  inhabitants  are  either  English  or 
Dutch  presbyterians,  episcopalians,  quakers,  and  French  pro- 
testants;  the  former  are  the  most  numerous.  The  two 
episcopal  missionaries  are  settled  at  Rye  and  East-Chester, 
and  receive  each  <jC60  annually,  taxed  upon  the  county. 
The  town  of  West-Chester  is  an  incorporated  borough, 
enjoying  a  mayor's  court,  and  the  right  of  being  represented 
by  a  member  in  assembly. 


DUTCHESS. 

This  county  adjoins  to  West-Chester,  which  bounds  it  on 
the  south,  the  Connecticut  line  on  the  east,*  Hudson's  river 
on  the  west,  and  the  county  of  Albany  on  the  north.  The 
south  part  of  this  county  is  mountainous  and  fit  only  for  iron 
works,  but  the  rest  contains  a  great  quantity  of  good  upland 
well  watered.  The  on!/  villages  in  it  are  Foghkeepsing 
and  the  Fish-Kill,  though  they  scarce  deserve  the  name. 
The  inhabitants  on  the  banks  of  the  river  are  Dutch,  but 
those  more  easterly  Englishmen,  and  for  the  most  part,  emi- 
grants from  Connecticut  and  Long  Island.  There  is  no 
episcopal  church  in  it.     The  growth  of  this  county  has  been 


I 

i 


*  In  describing  the  limits  of  the  several  counties,  I  regard  their  bounds  accord- 
ing to  the  jurisdiction  as  now  exercised  in  each,  rather  than  the  laws  relating  to 
them,  which  are  very  imperfect,  especially  the  general  act  in  1691.  The  greatest 
part  of  Hudson's  river  is  not  included  in  uiy  of  our  counties. 


312 


AfPENDIX. 


very  sudden,  and  commenced  but  a  few  years  ago.  Within 
the  memory  of  persons  now  Hving,  it  did  not  contain  above 
twelve  families ;  and  according  to  the  late  returns  of  the 
militia,  it  will  furnish  at  present  above  2500  fighting  men. 


!    i 


ALBANY. 

This  county  extends  from  the  south  bounds  of  the  manor 
of  Livingston  on  the  east  side,  and  Ulster  on  the  west  side 
of  Hudson's  river ;  on  the  north  its  limits  ar^  not  yet  ascer- 
tained. It  contains  a  vast  quantity  of  fine  low  land.  Its 
principal  commodities  are  wheat,  peas,  and  pine  boards. 

The  city  of  Albany,  which  is  near  1 50  miles  from  New- 
York,  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  There  our 
governors  usually  treat  with  the  Indian  dependents  upon  the 
British  crown.  The  houses  are  built  of  brick  in  the  Dutch 
taste,  and  are  in  number  about  360.  There  are  two  churches 
in  it.  That  of  the  episcopalians,  the  only  one  in  this  large 
county,  is  a  stone  building,  the  congregation  is  but  small, 
almost  all  the  inhabitants  resorting  to  the  Dutch  church, 
which  is  a  plain,  square,  stone  edifice ;  besides  these  they 
have  no  other  public  buildings  except  the  city  hall  and  the 
fort ;  the  latter  of  which  is  a  stone  square,  with  four  bastions, 
situated  on  an  eminence  which  overlooks  the  town,  but  is 
itself  commanded  by  higher  ground.  The  greatest  part  of 
the  city  is  fortified  only  by  palisadoes,  and  in  some  places 
there  are  small  cannon  planted  in  block-houses.  Albany 
was  incorporated  by  colonel  Dongan  in  1 686,  and  is  under 
the  government  of  a  mayor,  recorder,  six  aldermen,  and  as 
many  assistants.  It  has  al?o  a  sheriff,  town  clerk,  chamber- 
Iain,'  clerk  of  the  markets,  one  high  constable,  three  sub- 
constables,  and  a  marshal.  The  corporation  is  empowered 
besides  to  hold  a  mayor's  court  for  the  trial  of  civil  causes, 
and  a  court  of  general  quarter  sessions. 

Sixteen  or  eighteen  miles  north-west  from  Albany  lies 
Schenectady,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawks*  branch,  which 
falls  into  Hudson's  river  twelve  miles  to  the  north  of  Albany. 
This  village  is  compact  and  regular,  built  principally  of  brick, 


APPENDIX, 


313 


on  a  lich  flat  of  low  land  surrounded  with  hills.  It  has  a 
large  Dutch  church  with  a  steeple  and  town  clock  near  the 
centre.  The  windings  of  the  river  through  the  town  and 
the  fields  (which  are  often  overflowed  in  the  spring)  form, 
about  harvest,  a  most  beautiful  prospect.  The  lands  in  the 
vale  of  Schenectady  are  so  fertile  that  they  are  commonly 
sold  at  jC45  per  acre.  Though  the  farmers  use  no  kind  of 
manure,  they  till  the  fields  every  year,  and  they  always  pro- 
duce full  crops  of  wheat  or  peas.  Their  church  was  incor- 
porated by  governor  Cosby,  and  the  town  has  the  privilege 
of  sending  a  member  to  the  assemWy. 

From  this  village  our  Indian  traders  set  out  in  battoes  for 
Oswego.  The  Mohawks'  river,  from  hence  to  fort  Hunter, 
abounds  with  rifts  and  shoals,  which  in  the  spring  give  but 
little  obstruction  to  the  navigation.  From  thence  to  its  head, 
or  rather  to  the  portage  into  the  Wood  Creek,  the  conveyance 
is  easy,  and  the  current  less  rapid.  The  banks  of  this  river 
are  in  general  low,  and  the  soil  exceeding  good.  Our  settle- 
ments on  the  north  side  extend  to  Burnet's  field,  a  flat 
inhabited  by  Germans,  which  produces  wheat  and  peas  in 
surprising  plenty.  On  the  south  side,  except  a  few  Scotch- 
Irish  in  Cherry  Valley,  at  the  head  of  the  Susquehanna,  we 
have  but  few  farms  west  of  the  three  German  towns  on 
Schohare,  a  small  creek  which  empties  itself  into  the  Mo- 
hawks' river,  about  twenty  miles  west  of  Schenectady.  The 
fur  trade  at  Oswego  is  one  of  the  principal  advantages  of 
this  county.  The  Indians  resort  thither  in  May,  and  the 
trade  continues  till  the  latter  end  of  July.  A  good  road 
might  be  made  from  Schenectady  to  Oswego.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1755,  fat  cattle  were  ea  ily  driven  there  for  the  army 
under  the  command  of  general  Shirley. 

The  principal  settlements  to  the  northward  of  Albany  are 
Connestigiune,  eastward  of  Schenectady  on  the  Mohawks' 
river,  which,  a  little  lower,  tumbles  down  a  precipice  of  about 
seventy  feet  high,  called  the  Cahoes.  The  surprise  which, 
as  one  might  imagine,  would  naturally  be  excited  by  the 
view  of  so  great  a  cataroct,  is  much  diminished  by  the 

VOL.  I. — 40 


\\ 


3M 


APPENDIX. 


i 


height  of  the  banks  of  the  river ;  besides,  the  fall  i^  Uki 
uniform  as  a  mill-dam,  being  uninterrupted  by  the  projection 
of  rocks. 

At  Scaghtahook,  on  the  east  side  of  the  north  branch  of 
Hudson's  river,  tliere  are  a  few  farms,  but  many  more  several 
miles  to  the  eastward,  and  about  twenty-five  miles  from 
Albany  in  the  patent  of  Hosick.  These  were  all  broke  up 
by  an  irruption  of  French  and  Indians,  who,  on  the  28th  of 
August  1754,  killed  and  scalped  two  persons,  and  set  fiie  to 
the  houses  and  barns. 

\bout  forty  miles  to  the  northward  of  Albany,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  lies  Saratoga,  a  fine  tract  of  low  land,  from 
which  several  families  were  driven  by  the  French  Indians  in 
the  late  war.  A  project  of  purchasing  these  lands  from  the 
proprietors,  settling  them  with  Indians,  raising  a  fort  there, 
and  cultivating  the  soil  for  them,  has  been  often  talked  of 
since  captain  Campbell's  disappointment,  as  a  proper  expe- 
dient to  curb  the  scalping  parties  sent  out  from  Crown  Point. 
In  the  southern  part  of  the  county  of  Albany,  on  both 
sides  of  Hudson's  river,  the  settlements  are  very  scattered, 
except  within  twelve  miles  of  the  city,  when  the  banks 
become  low  and  accessible.  The  islands  here,  which  are 
many,  contain  perhaps  the  finest  soil  in  the  world. 

There  are  two  manors  in  the  county,  Renslaerwick  and 
Livingston,  which  have  each  the  privilege  of  sending  a  mem- 
ber to  the  assembly.  The  tenants  of  these  manors,  and  of 
the  patents  of  Claverack,  have  free  farms  at  the  annual  rent 
of  a  tenth  of  the  produce,  which  has  as  yet  been  neither 
exacted  nor  paid.  At  Ancram,  in  the  manor  of  Livingston, 
is  an  iron  furnace  about  fourteen  miles  from  the  river :  its 
best  and  most  improved  lands  lie  at  Tachanic  in  the  eastern 
parts,  which  have  of  late  been  much  disturbed  by  the  inroads 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  on  this  and  the  patents  of  Wes- 
ternhook  and  Claverack. 

The  winters  in  this  county  are  commonly  severe,  and 
Hudson's  river  freezes  so  hard  a  hundred  miles  to  the  south- 
ward of  Albany,  as  to  bear  sleds  loaded  with  great  burdens. 


/'' 


ir"f 


APPRNDIX. 


315 


Much  enow  in  very  serviceable  to  the  fanners  here,  not  only 
in  protecting  their  grain  from  the  frost,  but  in  facilitating  the 
transportation  of  their  boards  and  other  produce  to  the  banks 
of  the  river  against  the  ensuing  spring. 


ULSTER. 

Thia  county  joins  to  that  of  Albany,  on  the  west  side  of 
Hudson'3  river.  Its  northern  extent  is  fixed  at  Sawyer's 
rill:  the  rivers  Delaware  and  Hudson  bound  it  cast  and 
west,  and  a  west  line  from  the  mouth  of  Murderer's  creek  is 
its  southern  limit. 

The  inhabitants  are  Dutch,  French,  English,  Scotch,  and 
Irish,  but  the  first  and  the  last  are  most  numerous.  The 
episcopalians  in  this  county  are  so  inconsiderable  that  their 
church  is  only  a  mean  log-house.  The  most  considerable 
town  is  Kingston,  situated  about  two  miles  from  Hudson'^ 
river.  It  contains  about  150  houses  mostly  of  stone,  is  regu- 
larly laid  out  on  a  dry  levc:  spot,  and  has  a  large  stone  church 
and  court-house  near  the  centre.  It  is  thought  to  resemble 
Schenectady,  but  far  exceeds  it  in  its  elevation :  on  the 
north  side  of  the  town  the  Esopus  kill  winds  through  rich 
and  beautiful  lawns.  The  people  of  Ulster  having  long 
enjoyed  an  undisturbed  tranquillity,  are  some  of  the  most 
opulent  farmers  in  the  whole  colony. 

This  county  is  most  noted  for  fine  flour,  beer,  and  a  good 
breed  of  draught  horses.  At  the  conmiencement  of  the 
range  of  the  Apalp-chian  hills,  about  ten  mikes  from  Hudson's 
river,  is  an  inexhaustible  quarry  of  millstones,  which  far 
exceed  those  from  Colen  in  Europe,  formerly  imported  here, 
and  sold  at  jC80  a  pair.  The  Marbletown  millstones  cost 
not  a  fourth  part  of  that  sum.  This,  and  the  countie^4  if 
Dutchess  and  Orange,  abound  with  lime-stone,  and  on  the 
banks  of  Hudson's  river  are  found  greai  bodies  of  blue  slate. 

The  principal  villages,  besides  Kingston,  are  Marbletown, 
Hurley,  Rochester,  New  Paltz,  and  the  Walkill,  each  of 
which  is  surrounded  with  fine  tracts  of  low  land.  The  militia 
of  Ulster  is  about  15  or  1600  men  and  a  company  of  horse. 


316 


APPENDIX. 


r  i 


I 


4t 


OHAKOK 

County  is  divided  by  a  range  of  mountainH,  stretching 
westward  from  Hudson'^  river,  called  the  Highlanda.  On 
the  north  side  the  lands  are  very  broken  but  fertile,  and 
inhabited  by  Scotch,  IriHh,  and  English  presbyterians.  The 
society's  missionary  in  Ulster  preaches  here  sometimes  to  a 
small  congregation  of  the  e;  !jcopal  persuasion,  which  is  the 
only  one  in  the  county.  Their  villages  are  Goshen,  Bethle- 
hem, and  Little  Britain,  all  remarkable  for  producing,  in 
general,  the  best  butter  made  in  the  colony.  The  people  on 
the  south  side  of  the  mountains  are  all  Dutch ;  and  Orange 
town,  mure  conunonly  culled  by  the  Indian  name  Tappan,  is 
a  small  but  very  pleasant  inland  village  with  a  stone  court- 
house and  church.  The  militia  consists  of  about  1300  fight- 
ing  men. 

This  county  joins  to  the  province  of  New-Jersey  on  the 
south ;  and  the  non-settlement  of  the  partition  line  has  been 
the  greatest  obstruction  to  its  growth. 

There  is  a  very  valuable  tract  called  the  Drowned  Lands 
on  the  north  side  of  the  mountains,  containing  about  40  or 
50,000  acres.  The  waters  which  descend  from  the  surround- 
ing hills,  being  but  slowly  discharged  by  the  river  issmng 
out  of  it,  cover  these  vast  meadows  every  winter,  and  hence 
they  become  extremely  fertile.  The  fires,  kindled  up  in  the 
woods  by  the  deer  hunters  in  autumn,  are  communicated  by 
the  leaves  to  these  meadows  before  the  waters  rise  above  the 
channel  of  the  river,  and  a  dreadful  devouring  conflagration 
overruns  it,  consuming  the  herbage  for  several  days.  The 
Walkill  river,  which  runs  through  this  extensive  amphibious 
tract,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  is  in  the  spring  store*!  with 
e«ls  of  uncommon  size  and  plenty,  very  useful  to  the  farmers 
lesiding  on  its  banks.  The  river  is  about  two  chains  in 
breadth,  where  it  leaves  the  drowned  lands,  and  has  a  consi- 
derable fall.  The  bottom  of  it  is  a  broken  rock,  and  I  am 
informed  by  Mr.  Clinton,  a  gentleman  of  ingenuity  and  a 
mathematical  turn,  that  the  channel  might  for  less  than 
.£3000  be  sufiiciently  deepened  to  draw  off  all  the  water  from 


i 


I 


APPKNDIX. 


317 


•  he  meadows.  j3ome  parts  near  the  hanks  of  the  upland  havfr 
heen  already  redeemed  from  the  floods  ;  these  spots  are  very 
fertile,  and  produce  English  grass,  hemp,  and  Indian  corn. 

The  mountains  in  the  county  of  Orange  are  clothed  thick 
with  timber,  and  abound  with  iron  ore,  ponds,  and  fine  streams 
for  iron  works.  Oosliun  is  well  supplied  with  white  cedar, 
and  in  some  parts  of  the  woods  is  found  great  plenty  of  black 
walnut. 

Before  I  proceed  to  the  description  of  the  southern  counties 
I  beg  leave  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  Hudson's  river. 

Its  source  has  not  as  yet  been  discovered ;  we  know  in 
general  that  it  is  in  the  mountainous,  uninhabited  country, 
between  the  lakes  Ontario  and  Champlain.  In  its  course 
southward  it  approaches  the  Mohawks'  river  within  a  few 
miles  at  Saucondauga ;  from  thence  it  runs  north  and  north- 
easterly towards  lake  St.  Sacrement,  now  called  lake  George, 
and  is  not  above  eight  or  ten  miles  distant  from  it ;  the  course 
then  to  New- York  is  very  uniform,  being  in  the  main  south 
twelve  or  fifteen  degrees  west. 

The  distance  from  Albany  to  lake  George  is  computed  at 
sixty-five  miles :  the  river  in  that  interval  is  navigable  only 
to  Batteaus,  and  interrupted  by  rifts,  which  occasion  two  port- 
ages of  half  a  mile  each.*  There  are  three  routes  from 
Crown  Point  to  Hudson's  river  in  the  way  to  Albany  ;  on© 
through  lake  6e(»ge,  another  through  a  branch  of  lake 
Champlain,  bearing  a  southern  course,  and  terminating  in  a 
bason  several  miles  east  of  lake  George,  called  the  South  Bay. 
The  third  is  by  ascending  the  Wood  Creek,  a  shallow  stream 
about  one  hundred  feet  broad,  which,  coming  from  the  south- 
east, empties  itself  into  the  south  branch  of  the  lake  Cham- 
plain. 

The  place  where  these  routes  meet  on  the  banks  of  Hud* 
son's  river,  is  called  the  Carrying  Place :  here  fort  Lyman, 
since  called  fort  Edward,  is  built ;  but  fort  WiUiam  Henry,  a 
much  stronger  garrison,  was  erected  at  the  south  end  of  lake 


'  w 


*  In  the  passage  from  Albany  to  fort  Edward,  the  whole  land  carriage  i»  about 
twelve  or  thirteen  miles. 


J 


:J18 


Al'PENUIX. 


George,  after  the  repulse  of  the  French  forces  under  the  cOiA- 
mand  of  baron  Dieskau  on  the  8th  of  September,  1756: 
g^eneral  Shirley  thought  it  more  advisable  to  strengthen  fort 
Edward  in  the  concurrence  of  three  routes,  than  to  erect  the 
other  at  lake  George  seventeen  miles  to  the  northward  of  it ; 
and  wrote  a  very  pressing  letter  upon  that  head  to  sir  William 
Johnson,  who  then  commanded  the  provincial  troops. 

The  banks  of  Hudson's  river  are  for  the  most  part  rocky 
cliffs,  especially  on  the  western  shore.  The  passage  through 
the  highlands  affords  a  wild  romantic  scene  for  sixteen  miles 
through  steep  and  lofty  mountains :  the  tide  flows  a  few  miles 
above  Albany,  the  navigation  is  safe,  and  performed  in  sloops 
of  about  forty  or  fifty  tons  burden,  extremely  well  accommo- 
dated to  the  river :  about  sixty  miles  above  the  city  of  New- 
York  the  water  is  fresh,  and  in  wet  seasons  much  lower ;  the 
river  is  stored  with  variety  of  fish,  which  1-enders  a  summer's 
passage  to  Albany  exceedingly  diverting  to  such  as  are  fond 
of  angling.    • 

The  advantages  of  this  river  for  penetrating  into  Canada, 
and  protecting  the  southern  colonies  from  the  irruptions  of  the 
French,  by  securing  the  command  of  the  lakes,  and  cutting  off 
the  communication  between  the  French  settlements  on  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  though  but  lately  attended  to, 
must  be  very  apparent  to  every  judicious  observer  of  the  maps 
of  the  inland  part  of  North  America. 

The  French,  as  appears  from  the  intended  invasion  in 
1689,  have  long  eyed  the  English  possession  of  this  province 
with  jealousy,  and  it  becomes  us  to  fall  upon  every  method  for 
1(8  protection  and  defence. 

The  singular  conveniency  of  Hudson's  river,  to  this  province 
in  particular,  was  so  fully  shown  in  one  of  the  late  papers, 
published  in  1753,  under  the  title  of  the  Independent  Reflec- 
tor, that  I  cannot  help  reprinting  the  passage  relating  to  it. 

"High  roads,  which  in  most  trading  countries,  are  ex- 
tremely expensive,  and  awake  a  continual  attention  for  their 
reparation,  demand  from  us,  comparatively  speaking,  scarce 
any  public  notice  at  all.    The  whole  province  is  contained 


APPENDIX. 


319 


rasion  in 


in  two  narrow  oblongs,  extending  from  the  city  east  and 
north,  having  water  carriage  from  the  extremity  of  one,  and 
from  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  of  the  other, 
and,  by  the  most  accurate  calculation  has  not,  at  a  medium, 
above  twelve  miles  of  land  carriage  throughout  its  whole 
extent.  This  is  one  of  the  strongest  motives  to  the  settle- 
ment of  a  new  country,  as  it  affords  the  easiest  and  most 
speedy  conveyance  from  the  remotest  distances,  and  at  the 
lowest  expence.  The  effects  of  this  advantage  are  greater 
than  we  usually  observe,  and  are  therefore  not  sufficiently 
admired. 

*'The  province  of  Pensylvania,  has  a  fine  soil,  and  through 
the  importations  of  Germans,  abounds  with  inhabitants ;  but 
being  a  vast  inland  country,  its  produce  must,  of  consequence^ 
be  brought  to  a  market  over  a  great  extent  of  ground,  and 
all  by  land  carriage.  Hence  it  is,  that  Philadelphia  is  crowd- 
ed with  wagons,  carts,  horses,  and  their  drivers ;  a  stranger 
at  his  first  entrance  would  imagine  it  to  be  a  place  of  traffic, 
beyond  any  one  town  in  the  colonies,  while,  in  New- York  in 
particular,  to  which  the  produce  of  the  country  is  all  brought 
by  water,  there  is  more  business,  at  least  business  of  profit, 
though  with  less  show  and  appearance.     Not  a  boat  in  our 
river  is  navigated  with  more  than  two  or  three  men  at  most ; 
and  these  are  perpetually  coming  in  from  and  returning  to 
all  parts  of  the  adjacent  country,  in  the  same  employments 
that  fill  the  city  of  Philadelphia  with  some  hundreds  of  men, 
who,  in  respect  to  the  public  advantage,  may  justly  be  said 
to  be  laboriously  idle:  for,  let  any  one  nicely  compute  the  ex- 
pense of  a  wagon  with  its  tackling,  the  time  of  two  men  in 
attending  it,  their  maintenance,  four  horses,  and  the  charge 
of  their  provender,  on  a  journey  of  one,  though  they  often 
come  two  hundred  miles,   and  he  will  find  these  several  par- 
ticulars amount  to  a  sum  far  from  boing  inconsiderable.    All 
this  time  the  New-York  farmer  is  in  the  course  of  his  proper 
business,  and  the  unincumbered  acquisitions  of  his  calling ; 
for  at  a  medium,  there  is  scarce  a  farmer  in  the  province  that 
ronnot  transport  the  fruits  of  a  year's  labour  from  (he  bopf 


)1 


.J: 


320 


APPENDIX. 


farm  in  three  days,  at  a  proper  season,  to  some  convenient 
landing,  where  the  market  will  be  to  his  satisfaction,  and  all 
the  wants  from  the  merchant  cheaply  supplied;  besides 
which,  one  boat  shall  steal  into  the  harbour  of  New- York, 
with  a  lading  of  more  burden  and  value  than  forty  wagons, 
one  hundred  and  sixty  horses,  and  eighty  men  into  Philadel- 
phia ;  and  perhaps  with  less  noise,  bluster,  or  show  than  one. 
''Prodigious  is  the  advantage  we  have  in  this  article  alone,  I 
shall  not  enter  into  an  abstruse  calculation  to  evince  the  ex- 
act value  of  it  in  all  the  lights  in  which  it  may  be  considered; 
thus  much  is  certain,  that  barely  on  account  of  our  easy  car- 
riage, the  profits  of  farming  with  us  exceed  those  in  Penn- 
sylvania at  least  by  thirty  per  cent.;  and  that  difference,  in 
favour  of  our  farmers,  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  enrich  them  : 
while  the  others  find  the  disadvantage  they  are  exposed  to 
so  heavy,  (especially  the  remote  inhabitants  of  their  country,) 
that  a  bare  subsistence  is  all  they  can  reasonably  hope  to 
obtain.  Take  this  province  throughout,  the  expense  of  trans- 
porting a  bushel  of  wheat  is  but  two  pence  for  the  distance 
of  one  hundred  miles,  but  the  same  quau'v  f  he  like  dis- 
tance in  Pennsylvania,  will  always  exceec  '.e  shillin"f  at 
least.  The  proportion  between  us  in  ihe  conveyance  of  every 
thing  else  is  nearly  the  same-;  how  great  then  are  the  incum- 
brances to  which  they  are  exposed  !  What  an  immense 
charge  is  saved  to  us !  how  sensible  must  the  embarrassments 
they  are  subject  to  be  to  a  trading  people  !" 


RICHMOND 

County  consists  of  Staten  Island,  which  lies  nine  miles 
south-westward  from  the  city  of  New-York.  It  is  about 
eighteen  miles  long,  and  at  a  medium  six  or  seven  in  breadth, 
on  the  south  side  is  a  considerable  tract  of  good  level  land, 
but  the  island  is  in  general  rough,  and  the  hills  high  ;  the 
inhabitants  are  principally  Dutch  and  French,  the  former 
have  a  church,  but  the  latter  having  been  long  without  a 
minister,  resort  to  an  episcopal  church  in  Richmond  town,  a 
poor  mean  village  and  the  only  one  on  the  i&^and,  the  parson 


AFFUNUIX. 


321 


uf  the  parish  receives  £40  per  animni,  raised  by  a  tax  upon 
the  county. 

Southward  of  the  main  coast  of  this  and  the  colony  of  Con- 
necticut Ues  Long  Island,  called  by  the  Indians  Matowacs, 
and  named,  according  to  an  act  of  assembly  in  king  William's 
reign,  Nassau ;  its  length  is  computed  at  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles,  and  the  mean  breadth  twelve.  The  lands  on 
the  north  and  south  side  are  good,  but  in  the  middle,  sandy  and 
barren ;  the  southern  shore  is  fortified  against  any  invasion 
from  the  sea  by  a  beach  inaccessible  to  ships,  and  rarely  to  be 
approached,  even  by  the  smallest  long-boats,  on  account  of  the 
surge  which  breaks  upon  it  with  great  fury,  even  when  the 
winds  are  light.  The  coast,  east  and  west,  admits  of  regular 
soundings  far  into  the  ocean,  and  a3  the  lands  are  in  general 
low  for  several  hundred  miles,  nothing  can  be  more  advan- 
tageous to  our  ships  than  the  high  lands  of  Neversink,  near 
the  entrance  at  the  Hook,  which  are  scarce  six  miles  in 
length,  and  often  seen  thirty  leagues  from  the  sea;  this  island 
affords  the  finest  roads  in  America,  it  being  very  level  and 
but  indifferently  watered:  it  is  divided  into  three  counties.  ^ 

KINGS 

County  lies  opposite  to  New-York,  on  the  north  side  of  Long 
Island;  the  inhabitants  are  all  Dutch,  and  enjoying  a  good 
soil,  near  our  markets,  are  generally  in  easy  circumstances. 
The  county,  which  is  very  small,  is  settled  in  every  part,  and 
contains  several  pleasant  villages,  viz.  Bushwick,  Breucklin, 
Bedford,  Flat-Bush,  Flat-Lands,  New-Utrecht,  and  Gravet- 
end.  •  ' 

QUEEJNS 

County  is  more  extensive,  and  equally  well  settled :  tiis 
principal  towns  are  Jamaica,  Hempstead,  Flushing,  New- 
town, and  Oysterbay.     Hempstead  plain  is  a  large,  level. 

VOL.  I. — 4  1 


J 


APPENDIX. 

dry,  champaign  heath,  about  sixteen  miles  long  and  six  oi 
seven  wide,  a  common  land  belonging  to  the  towns  of  Oys- 
terbay  and  Hempstead.  The  inhabitani-  "re  divided  into 
Dutch  and  English  presbytc  i; us,  episcof  uiians,  aadqua- 
kers,, 

There  are  but  two  episcopal  missionaries  in  this  county, 
one  settled  at  Jamaica,  and  the  other  at  Hempstead ;  and 
each  of  them  receives  £60  annually,  levied  upon  all  the 
inhabitants. 


SUFFOLK 

Includes  all  the  eastern  part  of  Long  Island,  Shelter  Idand, 
Fisher's  Island,  Plumb  Island,  and  the  Isle  of  White.  This 
large  county  has  been  long  settled,  and,  except  one  small 
episcopal  congregation,  consists  entirely  of  English  presbyte- 
rians.  Its  principal  towns  are  Huntington,  Smithtown, 
Brookhaven,  Southampton,  Southhold,  and  Easthampton. 
The  farmers  are  for  the  most  part  grazsiers,  and  living  very 
remote  from  New-York,  a  great  part  of  their  produce  is 
carried  to  markets  in  Boston  and  Rhode-Island.  The 
Indians,  who  were  formerly  numerous  on  this  island,  are 
now  become  very  inconsiderable.  Those  that  remain, 
generally  bind  themselves  servants  to  the  English.  The 
whale  fishery,  on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  has  declined 
of  late  years,  through  the  scarcity  of  whales,  and  is  now 
almost  entirely  neglected. 

The  Elizabeth  islands,  Nantucket,  Martin's  vineyard,  &c. 
and  Pemy  Quid,  which  anciently  formed  Duke's  and  the 
county  of  Cornwal,  are  now  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Massachuset's  Bay.  Sir  William  Phips  demanded  them  of 
governor  Fletcher,  in  February  1692-3,  not  long  after  the 
new  charter  to  that  province;  but  the  government  here  was 
then  of  opinion,  that,  that  colony  was  not  entitled  to  any 
islands  westward  of  Nantucket. 

An  estimate  of  the  comparative  wealth  of  our  counties, 
may  be  formed  from  any  of  our  assessments.     In  a  jC10,000 


APPENDIX.  323 

part  of  a  jC45,000  tax  laid  in  1755,  the  proportions  settlerl 
by  an  act  of  assembly  stood  thus : — 

New-York £3,332 

Albany 1,060 

King's 484 

Queen's 1,COO 

Suffolk 860 

Richmond. .304 

West-Chester 1,000 

Ulster 860 

Dutchess 800 

Orang-e 300 

:  i:io,ooo 


CHAPTER  II. 


OP   THE    INHABITANTS. 


This  province  is  not  so  populous  as  some  have  imagined. 
Scarce  a  third  part  of  it  is  under  cultivation.  The  colony 
of  Connecticut,  which  is  vastly  inferior  to  this  in  its  ex- 
tent, contains,  according  to  a  late  authentic  enquiry,  above 
133,000  inhabitants,  and  has  a  militia  of  27,000  men ;  but 
the  militia  of  New-York,  according  to  the  general  estimate, 
does  not  exceed  18,000.  The  whole  number  of  souls  is 
computed  at  100,000. 

Many  have  been  the  discouragements  to  the  settlement 
of  this  colony.  The  French  and  Indian  irruptions,  to  which 
we  have  always  been  exposed,  have  driven  many  families 
into  New-Jersey.  At  home,  the  British  acts  for  the  trans- 
portation of  felons,  have  brought  all  the  American  colonies 
into  discredit  with  the  industrious  und  honest  poor,  both  in 
the  kingdoms  of  Grept  Britain  and  Ireland.  The  mischie\  - 


I 


i 


:V2\ 


APPENDIX. 


nils  tendency  ol'    those  laws  was  shown   in  u  late  paper, 
which  it  may  not  bo  improper  to  lay  before  the  reader.* 

"  It  is  too  well  known  that,  in  pursuance  of  divers  acts  of 
parliament,  great  numbers  of  fellows  who  have  forfeited 
their  lives  to  the  public,  for  the  most  atrocious  crimes,  arf. 
annually  transported  from  home  to  these  plantations.  Very 
surprising  one  would  think,  that  thieves,  burglars,  pickpock- 
ets, and  cut-purses,  and  a  herd  of  the  most  flagitious  banditti 
upon  earth,  should  be  sent  as  agreeable  companions  to  us ! 
That  the  supreme  legislature  did  intend  a  transportation  to 
America,  for  a  punishment  of  these  villains,  I  verily  believe : 
but  so  great  is  the  mistake,  that  confident  I  am,  they  are 
thereby,  on  the  contrary,  highly  rewarded.  For  what,  in 
God's  name,  can  be  more  agreeable  to  a  penurious  wretch, 
driven,  through  necessity,  to  seek  a  livelihood  by  breaking  of 
houses,  and  robbing  upon  the  king's  highway,  than  to  be 
saved  from  the  halter,  redeemed  from  the  stench  of  a  gaol 
and  transported,  passage  free,  into  a  country,  where,  being 
unknown,  no  man  can  reproach  him  with  his  crimes ;  where 
labour  is  high,  a  little  of  which  will  maintain  him ;  and 
where  all  his  expenses  will  be  moderate  and  low.  There  is 
scarce  a  thief  in  England,  that  would  not  rather  be  transport- 
ed than  hanged.  Life  in  any  condition,  but  that  of  extreme 
misery,  will  be  preferred  to  death.  As  long,  therefore,  as 
there  remains  this  wide  door  of  escape,  the  number  of  thieves 
and  robbers  at  home  will  perpetually  multiply,  and  their 
depredations  be  incessantly  reiterated. 

But  the  acts  were  intended,  for  the  better  peopling  the  colo- 
nies. And  will  thieves  and  murderers  be  conducive  to  that 
end  1  What  advantage  can  we  reap  from  a  colony  of 
unrestrainable  renegadoes  ?  will  they  exalt  the  glory  of  the 
crown  ?  or  rather,  will  not  the  dignity  of  the  most  illustrious 
monarch,  in  the  world  be  suUieu  by  a  province  of  subjects 
•^n  lawless,  detestable,  and  ignominious  ?     Can  agriculture 

*  The  Independent  Reflector. 


t^h 


'i 


I } 


\PPKNU1X. 


;i'i5 


\    W 


be  pioiuoted,  when  the  toild  boar  of  the  forest  breaks  doxcn  our 
hedges  "nd  pulls  up  our  vines  ?  Will  trade  floiirish,  or  manu- 
factures be  encouraged,  where  property  is  made  the  spoil  of 
such  who  are  too  idle  to  work,  and  wicked  enough  to  mur- 
der and  steal] 

"  Besides,  are  we  not  subjects  of  the  same  king,  with  the 
people  of  England  ;  members  of  the  same  body  politic,  and 
therefore  entitled  to  equal  privileges  with  them  1     If  so,  how 
injurious  does  it  seem  to  free  one  part  of  the  dommions  from 
the   plagues  of  mankind,   and  cast  them  upon  another? 
shou'd  a  law  be  proposed  to   take  t  •»-  poor  of  one  parish, 
and  billet  them  upon  another,  would  not  all  the  world,  but 
the  parish  to  be  relieved,  exclaim  against  such  a  project,  as 
iniquitous  and  absurd  1     Should  the  numberless  villains  of 
London  and  Westminster  be  suffered  to  escape  from  their 
prisons,  to  range  at  large  and  depredate  any  otiier  part  of 
the  kingdom,  would  not  every  man  join  with  the  sufferers, 
and  condemn  the  measure  as  hard  and  unreasonable  ?    And 
though  the  hardships  upon  us,  are  indeed  not  equal  to  those, 
yet  the  miseries  that  flow  from  laws,  by  no  means  intended 
to  prejudice  us,  are  too  heavy,  not  to  be  felt.  Bui  the  colonies 
musl  be  peopled.    Agreed :  and  will  the  transportation  acts 
ever  have  that  tendency?    No;  they  work  the  contrary  way, 
and  counteract  their  own  design.    We  want  people  His 
true>  but  not  villains,  ready  at  any  time,  encouraged  by 
impunity,  and  habituated  upon  the  slightest  occasions,  to 
cut  a  man's  throat  for  a  small  part  of  his  property.     The 
delights  of  such  company  is  a  noble  inducement,  indeed,  to 
the  honest  poor,  to  convey  themselves  into  a  strange  country. 
Amidst  all  our  plenty,  they  will  have  enough  to  exercise 
their  virtues,  and  tstand  in  no  need  of  the  association  of  such 
as  will  prey  upon  their  property,  and  gorge  themselves  with 
the  blood  of  the  adventurers.     They  came  over  in  search  of 
happiness;  rather  than  starve  will  live  any  where,  and 
would  be  glad  to  be  excused  from  so  afflicting  an  antepart  of 
the  torments  of  hell.    In  re  \lity,  sir,  these  very  laws,  though 
otherwise  designed,  hove  tTjrned  out,  in  the  end,  the  most 


'    rl 


i    ,'    ^ 


I  {I 


\^ 


f-^ 


f\ 


hi 


326 


AfPENDlX. 


1      ii 


\      t 


h\ 


effectual  expedients  thai  the  art  of  man  could  have  contri- 
ved, to  prevent  the  settlement  of  these  remote  parts  of  the 
king's  dominions.     They  have  actually  taken  away  almost 
every  encouragement  to  so  laudable  a  design.     I  appeal  to 
facts.     The  body  of  the  English  are  struck  with  terror  at 
the  thought  of  coming  over  to  us,  not  because  they  have  a 
vast  ocean  to  cross,  or  leave  behind  them  their  friends ;  or 
that  the  country  is  new  and  uncultivated  :  but  from  the 
shocking  ideas,  the  mind  must  necessarily  form,   of  the 
company  of  inhuman  savages,  and  the  more  terrible  herd  of 
exiled  malefactors.     There  are  thousands  of  honest  men, 
labouring  in  Europe,  at  four  pence  a  day,  starving  in  spite 
of  all  their  efforts,  a  dead  weight  to  the  respective  parishes 
to  which  they  belong ;  who,  without  any  other  qualifications 
than  common  sense,  health,  and  strength,  might  accumulate 
estates  among  us,  as  many  have  done  already.     These,  and 
not  the  others,  are  the  men  that  shouli.  be  sent  over  for  the 
better  peopling  the  plantations.     Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  ii> 
their  present  circumstances,  are  overstocked  with  them;  and 
he  who  would  imnxortalize  himself,  for  a  lover  of  mankind^ 
should  concert  a  scheme  for  the  transportation  of  the  indus- 
triously honest  abroad,  and  the  immediate  punishment  of 
rogues  and  plunderers  at  home.     The  pale-faced,  half-clad, 
meagre,   and  starved    skeletor.s,  that  are  seen  in  every 
village  of  those  kingdoms,   call  loudly  for  the  patriot's 
generous  aid.     The  plantations  too,  would  thank  him  for 
his  assistance,  in  obtaining  the  repeal  of  those  laws  which, 
though  otherwise    intended  by  the   legislature,  have    so 
unhappily  proved  injurious  to  his  own  country,  and  ruinous 
to  us.     It  is  not  long  since  a  bill  passed  the  commons,  for 
the  employment  of  such  criminals  in  his  majesty's  docks,  as 
should  merit  the  gallows.     The  design  was  good.     It  is 
consistent  with  sound  policy,  that  all  those,   who   have 
forfeited  their  liberty  and  lives  to  their  country,  should  be 
compelled  to  labour  the  residue  of  their  days  in  its  service. 
But  the  scheme  was  bad,  and  wisely  was  the  bill  rejected 
1w  the  lords,  for  this  only  reason,  that  it  had  a  natural  tendency 


fi  ! 


!  2  ' 


APPENDIX. 


327 


to  discredit  the  king's  yards :  the  consequences  of  which  must 
have  been  prejudicial  to  the  whole  nation.  Just  so  ought 
we  to  reason  in  the  present  case,  and  we  should  then  soon 
be  brought  to  conclude,  that  though  peopling  the  colonies, 
which  was  the  laudable  motive  of  the  legislature,  be  expedi- 
ent to  the  public,  abrogating  the  transportation  laws  must 
be  equally  necessary." 

The  bigotry  and  tyranny  of  some  of  our  governors,  to- 
gether with  the  great  extent  of  their  grants,  may  also  be 
considered  among  the  discouragements  against  the  full 
settlement  of  the  province.  Most  of  these  gentlemen  coming 
over  with  no  other  view  than  to  raise  their  own  fortunes, 
issued  extravagant  patents,  charged  with  small  quit-rents, 
to  such  as  were  able  to  serve  them  in  the  assembly ;  and 
these  patentees,  being  generally  men  of  estates,  have  rated 
their  lands  so  exorbitantly  high,  that  very  few  poor  persons 
could  either  purchase  or  lease  them.  Add  to  all  these,  that 
the  New-England  planters  have  always  been  disaffected  to 
the  Dutch  ;  nor  was  there,  after  the  surrender,  any  foreign 
accession  from  the  Netherlands.  The  province  being  fhus 
poorly  inhabited,  the  price  of  labour  became  so  enormously 
enhanced,  that  we  have  been  constrained  to  import  negroes 
from  Africa,  who  are  employed  in  all  kinds  of  servitude 
and  tiades. 

English  is  the  most  prevailing  language  amongst  us,  but 
not  a  little  corrupted  by  the  Dutch  dialect,  which  is  still  so 
much  used  in  some  counties,  that  the  sheriffs  find  it  difficult 
to  obtain  persons,  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  English 
tongue,  to  serve  as  jurors  in  the  courts  of  law. 

The  manners  of  the  people  differ  as  well  as  their  lan- 
guage. In  Suffolk  and  Queen's  county,  the  first  settlers  of 
which  were  either  natives  of  England,  or  the  immediate 
descendants  of  such  as  begun  the  plantations  in  the  eastern 
colonies,  their  customs  are  similar  to  those  prevailing  in  the 
English  counties  from  whence  they  originally  sprang.  In 
the  city  of  New- York,  through  our  intercourse  with  the 
European?,  we  follow  the  London  fashions  ;  though,  by  the 


i 


■  1, 


:.,  I 


>  i 


i 


Iff        El 


atb 


AfPENDlX. 


/ 


!f 


^1 


it 


I 


^  h 


i         V 


8    i 


time  we  adopt  them,  they  become  disused  in  England.  Our 
affluence,  during  the  late  war,  introduced  a  degree  of  luxury 
in  tables,  dress,  and  furniture,  ^vith  which  we  were  before 
unt.(*<(uainted.  But  still  we  are  not  so  gay  a  people  as  our 
neighoours  in  Boston,  and  several  of  the  southern  colonies. 
The  Dutch  counties,  in  some  measure,  follow  the  exam^ilo 
of  New-York,  but  still  retain  many  modes  pecidiar  to  the 
Hollanders. 

The  city  of  New-York  consists  principally  of  merchants, 
shopkeepers,  and  tradesmen,  who  sustain  the  reputation  of 
honest,  punctual,  and  fair  dealers.  With  respect  to  riches, 
there  is  not  so  great  an  inequality  amongst  us  as  is  common 
in  Boston  and  some  other  places.  Every  man  of  industry 
and  integrity  has  it  in  his  power  to  live  well,  and  many  are 
the  instances  of  persons  who  came  here  distressed  by  their 
poverty,  who  now  enjoy  easy  and  plentiful  fortunes. 

New- York  is  one  of  the  most  social  places  on  the  conti- 
nent. The  men  collect  themselves  into  weekly  evening 
clubs.  The  ladies,  in  winter,  are  frequently  entertained 
cither  at  concerts  of  music  or  assemblies,  and  make  a  very 
good  appearance.  They  are  comely  and  dress  well,  and 
scarce  any  of  them  have  distorted  shapes.  Tinctured  with 
a  Dutch  education,  they  manage  their  families  with  be- 
coming parsimony,  good  providence,  and  singular  neatness. 
The  practice  of  extravagant  gaming,  common  to  the  fashion- 
able part  of  the  fair  sex,  in  some  places,  is  a  vice  with 
which  my  comitrywonien  cannot  justly  be  charged.  There 
is  nothing  they  so  generally  neglect  as  reading,  and  indeed 
all  the  arts  for  the  improvement  of  the  mind,  in  which,  1 
confess,  we  have  set  them  the  example.  They  are  modest, 
temperate,  and  charitable;  naturally  sprightly,  sensible,  and 
good-humoured;  and,  by  the  helps  of  a  more  elevated  educa- 
tion, would  possess  all  the  accomplishments  desirable  in  the 
sex.  Our  scliools  are  in  the  lowest  order — the  instructors 
want  instruction;  and,  through  a  long  t;hameful  neglect  of  all 
the  arts  and  sciences,  our  common  speech  is  extremely  cor- 
rupt, and  the  evidences. of  a  had  taste,  both  as  to  thoufln 


AFfUiNUU. 


:i'i[i 


itiid  taagiiuge,  ure  visible  in  uU  uiir  pioceeiliugd,  public  and 
private. 

The  people,  both  in  town  and  country,  are  sober,  indus- 
trious, and  hospitable,  though  intent  upon  gain.  The  richer 
sort  keep  very  plentiful  tables,  abounding  with  great  varietiei 
of  flesh,  fish,  fowl,  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables.  The  com- 
mon drinks  are  beer,  cider,  weak  punch,  and  Madeira  wine. 
For  dessert,  we  have  fruits  in  vast  plenty,  of  different  kinds 
and  various  species. 

Gentlemen  of  estates  rarely  reside  in  the  country,  and 
hence  few  or  no  experiments  have  yet  been  made  in  agri- 
culture. The  farms  being  large,  our  husbandmen,  for  that 
reason,  have  little  recourse  to  art  for  manuring  and  improving 
their  lands ;  but  it  is  said,  that  nature  has  furnished  us  with 
sufficient  helps,  whenever  necessity  calls  u.'  to  use  them. 
It  is  much  owing  to  the  disproportion  between  the  number 
of  our  inhabi'  u,nts,  and  the  vast  tracts  remaining  still  to  be 
settled,  that  we  have  not,  as  yet,  entered  upon  scarce  any 
other  manufactures  than  such  as  are  indispensably  necessary 
for  our  home  convenience.  Felt-making,  which  is  perhaps 
the  most  natural  of  any  we  could  fall  upon,  was  begun  some 
years  ago,  and  hats  were  exported  to  the  West-Indies  with 
great  success,  till  lately  prohibited  by  an  act  of  parliament. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  colony  are  in  general  healthy  and 
robust,  taller  but  shorter  lived  than  Europeans,  and,  both 
with  respect  to  their  minds  and  bodies,  arrive  sooner  to  an 
age  of  maturity.  Breathing  a  serene,  dry  air,  they  are 
more  sprightly  in  their  natural  tempers  than  the  people  of 
England,  and  hence  instances  of  suicide  are  here  very  un- 
common. Th^  history  of  our  diseases  belon  s  to  a  profession 
with  which  I  am  very  little  acquainted.  Few  physicians 
amongst  us  are  eminent  for  their  skill.  Quacks  abound  like 
locusts  in  Egypt,  and  too  many  have  recommended  them- 
selves to  a  full  practice  and  profitable  subsistence.  This  is 
the  less  to  be  wondered  at,  as  the  profession  is  under  no  kind 
of  regulation.  Loud  as  the  call  is,  to  our  shame  be  it 
remembered,  w^e  have  no  law  to  protert  the  lives  of  the 
vol,.  I — 42. 


I 


h 


I 


■'/ 


Mh 


i 


£■1 


APPKNDIX. 


king's  flubJACtei  from  the  tnnlprnctice  of  prciendcre.  Any 
man  at  hin  pleasure  hcIh  up  fur  physician,  apothecary,  and 
chirurgeoii.  No  candidates  arc  either  examined  or  licentied, 
or  even  sworn  to  fair  practice.*  The  natural  history  of  this 
province  would  of  itself  furnish  a  small  volume  ;  and,  there- 
fore,  I  leave  this  also  to  such  as  have  capacity  and  leisure  to 
make  useful  observations,  in  that  curious  and  ent«rtainin|; 
branch  of  natural  philosophy. 


CHAPTER  III. 


jr, 


OF    OUR    TRADK. 

The  situation  of  New-York,  with  respect  to  foreign  mar- 
kets, for  reasons  elsewhere  assigned,  is  to  be  preferred  to  any 
of  our  colonies.  It  lies  in  the  centre  of  the  British  planta- 
tions on  the  continent,  has  at  all  times  a  short  easy  access  to 
the  ocean,  and  commands  almost  the  whole  trade  of  Connec- 
ticut and  New-Jersey,  two  fertile  and  well-cultivated  colonies. 
The  projection  of  Cape  Cod  into  the  Atlantic,  renders  the 
navigation  from  the  former  to  Boston,  at  some  seasons, 
extremely  perilous ;  and  sometimes  the  coasters  are  driven 
off,  and  compelled  to  winter  in  the  West-Indies.  But  the 
conveyance  to  New- York,  from  the  eastward,  through  the 
sound,  is  short  and  unexposed  to  such  dangers.  Philadel- 
phia receives  as  little  advantage  from  New-Jersey,  as  Boston 
from  Connecticut,  because  the  only  rivers  which  roll  through 
that  province  disembogue  not  many  miles  from  the  very 
city  of  New-York.  Several  attempts  have  been  made  to 
raise  Perth  Amboy  into  a  trading  port,  but  hitherto  it  has 
proved  to  be  an  unfeasible  project.     New-York,  all  things 

'''  The  necoflsity  of  regulating  the  practice  of  physic,  and  a  plan  for  that  pur- 
pose, were  strongly  recommonded  by  the  author  of  the  Independent  Reflector,  in 
1753,  when  the  city  of  Now- York  alone  boasted  the  honour  of  having  above  fortv 
gentlemen  of  that  facuUv. 


IH 


APPENDIX. 


m 


coufidered,  has  u  much  better  situation,  and,  were  it  othur- 
wise,  the  city  is  become  too  rich  and  considerable  to  be 
eclipsed  by  any  other  town  in  its  neighbourhood. 

Our  merchants  are  compared  to  a  hive  of  bees,  who 
industriously  gather  honey  for  others — ^on  vobis  mellificatis 
apes.  The  profits  of  our  trade  centre  chiefly  in  Great  Bri- 
tain and  for  that  treason,  methinks,  among  uiherti,  wc  ought 
always  to  receive  the  generous  aid  and  protection  of  our 
mother  country.  In  our  traffic  with  other  places,  the  balance 
is  almost  constantly  in  our  favour.  Our  exports  to  the  West- 
Indies  are  bread,  peas,  rye-meal,  Indian  corn,  apples,  onions, 
boards,  staves,  horses,  sheep,  butter,  cheese,  pickled  oysters, 
beef,  and  pork.  Flour  is  also  a  main  article,  of  which  there 
is  shipped  about  80,000  barrels  per  annum.  To  preserve  the 
credit  of  this  important  branch  of  our  staple,  we  have  a  good 
law,  appointing  officers  to  inspect  and  brand  every  cask  before 
its  exportation.  The  returns  are  chiefly  rum,  sugar,  and 
molasses,  exce^>t  cash  f  ^m  Curacoa,  and  when  mules,  from 
the  Spanish  Main,  ore  ordered  to  Jamaica,  and  the  Wind- 
ward Islands,  which  re  generally  exchanged  for  their  natu- 
ral produce,  ■<••.  vo  receive  b';  little  cash  from  our  owri 
islands.  TJ  j  balance  againHt  them  would  be  much  more 
in  our  favour,  if  the  indulgence  to  our  sugar  colonies  did  not 
enable  them  to  sell  their  produce  at  a  higher  rate  than  either 
the  Dutch  or  French  islands. 

The  Spaniards  commonly  contract  for  provisions  with 
merchants  in  this  and  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania,  very  much 
to  the  advantage  both  of  the  contractors  and  the  public, 
because  the  returns  are  wholly  in  cash.  Our  wheat,  flour, 
Indian  corn,  and  lumber,  shipped  to  Lisbon  and  Madeira, 
balance  the  Madeira  wine  imported  here. 

"he  logwood  trade  to  the  bay  of  Honduras  is  very  consi- 
derable, and  was  pushed  by  our  merchants  with  great  bold- 
ness in  the  most  dangerous  times.  The  exportation  of  flax 
seed  to  Ireland  is  of  late  very  much  increased.  Between 
the  9ih  of  December,  1755,  and  the  23d  of  February  follow- 
in£^,  we  shipped  oiT  12,528  lioirslicads.     In  return  for  this^ 


A) 


'I 


) 


■t^\7:^Tftpy:i^y  ■',"'?■■''-■  ^ 


SS2 


APPENDIX. 


(     { *s  ■ 
J     \ 


)    r 


(< 


1 


( 


article,  linens  are  imported,  and  bills  of  exchange  drawn  in 
favour  of  England,  to  pay  for  the  dry  goods  we  purchase 
there.  Our  logwood  is  remitted  to  the  EngUsh  merchants 
for  the  same  purpose. 

The  fur  trade,  though  very  much  impaired  by  the  French 
wiles  and  encroachments,  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  in 
silence.*  The  building  of  Oswego  has  conduced,  more 
than  any  thing  else,  to  the  preservation  of  this  trade.  Peltry 
of  all  kinds  is  purchased  with  rum,  ammunition,  blankets, 
strouds  and  wampum,  or  couque-ahell  bugles.  The  French 
fur  trade  at  Albany  was  carried  on  till  the  summer  1755,  by 
the  Caghnuaga  proselytes;  and,  in  return  for  their  peltry, 
they  received  Spanish  pieces  of  eight,  and  some  other  articles 
which  the  French  want,  to  complete  their  assortment  of 
Indian  goods.  For  the  savages  prefer  the  English  strouds 
to  theirs,  and  the  French  found  it  their  interest  to  purchase 
them  of  us,  and  tr-  nsport  them  to  the  western  Indians  on 
the  lakes  Erie^  Huron,  and  at  the  strait  of  Misilimakinac. 

Our  importation  of  dry  goods  from  England  is  so  vastly 
great,  that  we  are  obliged  to  betake  ourselves  to  all  possible 
arts  to  make  remittances  to  the  British  merchants.  It  is 
for  this  purpose  we  import  cotton  from  St.  Thomas's  and 
Surinam ;  lime-juice  and  Nicaragua  wood  from  Curacoa ; 
and  logwood  from  the  bay,  &c.  and  yet  it  drains  us  of  all 
the  silver  and  gold  we  can  collect.  It  is  computed,  that 
the  aimual  amount  of  the  goods  purchased  by  this  colony  in 
Great  Britain,  is  in  value  not  less  than  jC100,000  sterling ; 
and  the  sum  would  be  much  greater  if  a  stop  was  put  to  all 
clandestine  trade.  England  is,  doubtless,  entitled  to  all  our 
superfluities ;  because  our  general  interests  are  closely  con- 
nected, and  her  navy  is  our  principal  defence.  On  this 
account,  the  trade  with  Hamburgh  and  Holland  for  duck, 
chequered  linen,  oznabrigs,  cordage,  and  tea,  is  certainly, 

*  It  is  eomputed,  that  fonnerly,  we  exported  160  hogsheads  of  beaver  and  other 
fine  furs  per  annum,  and  200  hogsheads  of  Indian-dressed  deer-skins,  besides 
those  carried  from  Albany  into  Now-England.  Skins  undressed  are  usually 
nhinped  to  Holland. 


V  4 


'^"•^  •i^-i.it 


>»*»»*  -,-. 


!i 


APPENDIX. 


SSS 


upon  the  whole,  impolitic  and  unreasonable ;  how  much 
soever  it  may  conduce  to  advance  the  interest  of  a  few  mer- 
chants, or  this  particular  colony. 

By  what  measures  this  contraband  trade  may  be  eflectu* 
ally  obstructed  is  hard  to  determine,  though  it  well  deserves 
the  attention  of  a  British  parliament.  Increasing  the  num- 
ber of  custom-house  officers,  will  be  a  remedy  worse  than  the 
disease.  Their  salaries  would  be  an  additional  charge  upon 
the  public;  for  if  we  argue  from  their  conduct,  we  ought  not  to 
presume  upon  their  fidelity.  The  exclusive  right  of  the 
East-India  company  to  import  tea,  while  the  colonies  pur- 
chase it  of  foreigners  30  per  cent,  cheaper,  must  be  very 
prejudicial  to  the  nation.  Our  people,  both  in  town  and 
country,  are  shamefully  gone  into  the  habit  of  tea-drinking; 
and  it  is  supposed  we  consume  of  this  commodity  in  value 
near  jCl  0,000  sterhng  per  annum. 

Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  fishery  of  sturgeons,  which 
abound  in  Hudson^s  river,  might  be  improved  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  colony ;  and  that,  if  proper  measures  were 
concerted,  much  profit  would  arise  from  ship-building  and 
naval  stores.  It  is  certain  we  have  timber  in  vast  plenty, 
oak,  white  and  black  pines,  fir,  locust,  red  and  white  mul- 
berry, and  cedar;  and,  perhaps,  there  is  no  soil  on  the  globe 
fitter  for  the  production  of  hemp  than  the  lowlands  in  the 
county  of  Albany.  To  what  I  have  already  said  concerning 
iron  ore,  a  necessary  article,  I  shall  add  an  extract  from  the 
Independent  Reflector. 

"  It  is  generally  believed  that  this  province  abounds  with 
a  variety  of  minerals.  Of  iron  in  particular,  we  have  such 
plenty,  as  to  be  excelled  by  no  country  in  the  world  of  equal 
extent.  It  is  a  metal  of  intrinsic  value  beyond  any  other, 
and  preferable  to  the  purest  gold.  The  former  is  converted 
into  numberless  forms,  for  as  many  indispensable  uses ;  the 
latter  for  its  portableness  and  scarcity,  is  only  fit  for  a  me- 
dium of  trade  :  but  iron  is  a  branch  of  it,  and  I  am  persuaded 
will,  one  time  or  other,  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  articles 
of  our  commerce.     Our  annual  exports  to  Boston,  Rhode- 


1 

f 


lib 


r\i 


$u 


APPENDIX. 


u 


i 


^i  \ 


1 


!      < 


Island  and  Connecticut,  and,  since  the  late  act  of  parlia- 
ment, to  England,  are  far  from  being  inconsiderable.   The 
bodies  of  iron  ore  in  the  northern  parts  of  this  province  are 
so  many,  their  quality  so  good,  and  their  situation  so  con- 
venient, in   respect  to  wood,  water,  hearth-stone,  proper 
fluxes  and  carriage,  for  furnaces,  bloomeries,  and  forges, 
that  with  a  little  attention  we  might  very  soon  rival  the 
Swedes  in  the  produce  of  this  article.     If  any  American 
attempts  in  iron  works  have  proved  abortive,  and  disappointed 
their  undertakers,  it  is  not  to  be  imputed  either  to  the  qua- 
lity of  the  ore,  or  a  defect  of  conveniences.     The  want  of 
more  workmen,  and  the  villany  of  those  we  generally  have, 
are  the  only  causes  to  which  we  must  attribute  such  miscar- 
riages.    No  man,  who  has  been  concerned  in  them,  will 
disagree  with  me,  if  I  assert,  that  from  the  founder  of  the 
furnace,  to  the  meanest  banksman  or  jobber,  they  are  usu- 
ally low,  profligate,  drunken,  and  faithless.     And  yet,  under 
all  the  innumerable  disadvantages  of  such  instruments,  very 
large  estates  have,  in  this  way,  been  raised  in  some  of  our 
colonies.     Our  success,  therefore,  in  the  iron  manufactory, 
is  obstructed  and  discouraged  by  the  want  of  workmen,  and 
the  high  price  of  labour,  its  necessary  consequence,  and  by 
these  alone :  but  'tis  our  happiness,  that  such  only  being  the 
cause,  the  means  of  redress  are  entirely  in  our  own  hands. 
Nothing  more  is  wanting  to  open  a  vast  fund  of  riches  to  the 
pro'/irice,  in  the  branch  of  trade,  than  the  importation  of 
foreigners.     If  our  merchants  and  landed  gentlemen  could 
be  brought  to  a  coalition  in  this  design,  their  private  interests 
would  not  be  better  advanced  by  it,  than  the  public  emolu- 
ment ;  the  latter  in  particular,  would  thereby  vastly  improve 
their  lands,  increase  the  number  and  raise  the  rents  of  their 
tenants.     And  I  cannot  but  think,  that  if  those  gentlemen 
who  are  too  inactive  to  engage  in  such  an  enterprise,  would 
only  be  at  the  pains  of  drawing  up  full  representations  of 
their  advantages  for  iron  works,  and  of  publishing  them  from 
lime  to  time  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  Germany,  and  Sweden; 
the  province  would  soon  be  supplied  with  a  sufficient  num- 


w'&jC^^  ^„_^_J!LjutSj 


p. , . 


APPENDIX. 


335 


ber  of  capable  workmen  in  all  branches  of  that  manufac- 
tory.'* 

The  money  used  in  this  province  is  silver,  gold,  British 
halfpence,  and  bills  of  credit.  To  counterfeit  either  of  them 
is  felony  without  benefit  of  clergy ;  but  none  except  the  latter 
and  Lyon  dollars  are  a  legal  tender.  Twelve  halfpence,  till 
lately  passed  for  a  shilling ;  which,  being  much  beyond  their 
value  in  any  of  the  neighbouring  colonies,  the  assembly,  in 
1753,  resolved  to  proceed,  at  their  next  meeting,  after  the 
1st  of  May  ensuing,  to  the  consideration  of  a  method  for 
ascertaining  their  value.  A  set  of  gentlemen,  in  number 
seventy-two,  took  the  advantage  of  the  discredit  that  resolve 
put  upon  copper  halfpence,  and  on  the  22d  of  December, 
subscribed  a  paper,  engaging  not  to  receive  or  pass  them, 
except  at  the  rate  of  fourteen  coppers  to  a  shilling.  This 
gave  rise  to  a  mob,  for  a  few  days,  among  the  lower  class  of 
people,  but  some  of  them  being  imprisoned,  the  scheme  was 
carried  into  execution,  and  established  in  every  part  of  the 
province,  without  the  aid  of  a  law.  Our  paper  bills,  which 
are  issued  to  serve  the  exigencies  of  the  government,  were 
at  first  equalled  to  an  ounce  of  silver,  then  valued  at  eight 
shillings.  Before  the  late  Spanish  war,  silver  and  gold  were 
in  great  demand  to  make  remittances  for  European  goods, 
and  then  the  bills  sunk,  an  ounce  of  silver  being  worth  nine 
shillings  and  three  pence.  During  the  war,  the  credit  of 
our  bills  was  well  supported,  partly  by  the  number  of  prizes 
taken  by  our  privateers,  and  the  high*  price  of  our  produce 
abroad ;  and  partly  by  the  logwood  trade  and  the  deprecia- 
tion of  the  New-England  paper  money,  wich  gave  ours  a 
free  circulation  through  the  eastern  colonies.  Since  the 
war,  silver  has  been  value*',  at  about  nine  shillings  and  two 
pence  an  ounce,  and  is  doul'Ufss  fixed  there,  till  ou.  oits 
exceed  what  we  export.  To  assist  his  majesty  for  rem  "■ 
the  late  encroachments  of  the  French,  we  have  isaued 
jC80,000,  to  be  sunk  in  short  periods,  by  a  tax  on  estates, 
real  and  personal ;  and  the  w  hole  amount  of  our  paper  cur- 
rency is  thought  to  be  about  jCl 60,000. 


1-' 


■,'    i 


\-  ! 


1  * 


I 

h 


.-W6 


AI'PENDIX. 


Never  was  the  trade  of  this  province  in  so  flourishing  u 
condition,  as  at  the  latter  end  of  the  late  French  war.  Above 
twenty  privateers  were  often  out  of  this  port  at  a  time ;  and 
they  were  very  successful  in  their  captures.  Provisions, 
which  are  our  staple,  bore  a  high  price  in  the  West-Indies. 
The  French,  distressed  through  the  want  of  them,  gladly 
received  our  flags  of  truce,  though  sometunes  they  had  but 
one  or  two  prisoners  on  board,  because  they  were  always 
loaded  with  flour,  beef,  pork,  and  such  like  commodities. 
The  danger  their  own  vessels  were  exposed  to,  induced  them 
to  sell  their  sugars  to  us  at  a  very  low  rtite.  A  trade  was, 
at  the  same  time,  carried  on  between  Jamaica  and  the 
Spanish  Main,  which  opened  a  fine  market  to  the  northern 
colonies,  and  the  returns  were  principally  in  cash.  It  was 
generally  thought,  that  if  the  war  had  continued,  the  great- 
est part  of  the  produce  of  the  Spanish  and  French  settlements 
in  the  West-Indies  would  have  been  transacted  to  Great 
Britain,  through  some  one  or  other  oi  her  colonies ;  whencf 
we  may  fairly  argue  their  prodigious  importance. 

The  provincial  laws  relating  to  our  trade  are  not  very 
numerous.  Those  concerned  in  them,  may  have  recourse 
to  the  late  edition  of  our  acts  at  large,  published  in  1752 ; 
and  for  this  reason,  I  beg  to  be  excused  from  exhibiting  an 
unentertaining  summary  of  them  in  this  work. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


OF  OUR  RELIGIOUS   STATE. 


J!    \. 


By  the  account  already  given,  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
I  e  acts  for  settling  a  ministry  in  four  counties,  and  the 
observations  made  concerning  our  various  christian  denomi- 
nations, I  have  in  a  great  measure  anticipated  what  1  at 
first  intended  to  have  ranged  under  this  head. 

The  principal  distinctions  amobgst  us,  are  the  episcopa- 
lians, and  the  Dutch  and  English  presbyterians :  the  two 


\  -, 


L 


-.■f^jaaaE- 


\ 


APPEIfDIX. 


33' 


? 


Jast,  together  with  all  the  ther  piotestauts  in  the  colony, 
are  sometimes  (perhaps  here  improperly)  called  by  the 
general  name  of  dissenters ;  and,  compared  to  them,  the 
episcopalians  are,  I  believe,  scarce  in  the  proportion  of  one 
to  fifteen.  Hence  partly  arises  the  general  discontent  on 
account  of  the  ministry  acte  •  not  so  much  that  the  provision 
made  by  them  is  engri  ssed  by  the  minor  sect,  as  because 
the  body  of  the  people  are  tor  an  equal,  universal,  toleration 
of  protestants,  and  utterly  averse  to  any  kmd  of  ecclesiastical 
establishment.  The  dissenters,  though  fearless  of  each  other, 
are  all  jealous  of  the  episcopal  party,  being  apprehensive 
that  the  countenance  they  may  have  from  home,  will 
foment  a  lust  for  dominion,  and  enable  them,  in  process  of 
time,  to  subjugate  and  oppress  their  fellow  subjects.  The 
violent  measures  of  some  of  our  governors  have  given  an 
alarm  to  their  fears,  and  if  ever  any  other  gentlpman,  who 
may  be  honoured  with  the  chief  command  of  the  province, 
begins  to  divert  himself,  by  retrenching  the  privileges  and 
immunities  they  now  enjoy,  the  confusion  of  the  province 
will  be  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  his  folly ;  for  though 
bis  majesty  has  no  other  subjects  upon  whose  loyalty  he 
can  more  firmly  depend,  yet  an  abhorrence  of  persecution, 
under  any  of  its  appearances,  is  so  deeply  rooted  in  the 
people  of  this  plantation,  that  as  long  as  they  continue  their 
numbers  and  interest  in  the  assembly,  no  attempt  wiU 
probably  be  made  upon  the  rights  of  conscience,  without 
endangering  the  public  repose. 

Of  the  government  of  the  Dutch  churches  I  have  alreaily 
given  an  account.  As  to  the  episcopal  clergy,  they  ar^ 
missionaries  of  the  Englidh  society  for  propagating  the  gos- 
pel, and  ordinarily  ordained  by  the  bishop  of  London,  who, 
havinc?  ;;  commission  from  the  king  to  exercise  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiciion,  commonly  appoints  a  clergyman  here  for  his 
commissary.  The  ministers  are  called  by  the  particular 
churches,  and  maintained  by  the  voluntary  contribution  oi" 
their  auditors  and  the  society's  annual  allowance,  there 
"  eing  no  law  for  tithe?. 

VOL.  I — 43. 


/ 


\1 


fM 


ir 


% 


338 


APPENDIX. 


i-f 


The  English  presbyterians  are  very  numerous.  Those 
inhabiting  New- York,  New-Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
three  Delaware  counties,  are  regularly  formed,  after  the 
manner  of  the  church  of  Scotland,  into  consistories  or  kirk 
sessions,  presbyteries  and  synods,  and  will  probably  soon  join 
in  erecting,  a  general  assembly.  The  clergy  are  ordained 
by  their  fellows,  and  maitujined  by  their  respective  congre- 
gations. I  .'Tc-ept  those  inissionaries  among  the  Indians, 
whose  tnibsiBtenci  is  paifl  y  the  Society  in  Scotland,  for 
propagaiiig  Cloislinn  Kw.uL'.ge.  None  of  the  presbyterian 
chi^rches  !»•  this  province  are  incorporated,  as  is  the  case  of 
many  in  New-Jersey.  Their  judicatories  are  upon  a  very 
proper  establishment,  for  th/^y  have  no  authority  by  legal 
,-'!iciio  .ri  to  enforce  taeir  decrees.  Nor  indeed  is  any 
religious  sect,  amongst,  us,  legally  invested  with  powers 
j?i3ju<iicial  .fo  tho  ^omniri/i  privileges  of  the  rest.  The 
dominion  of  :A\  ovw  clergy  is,  as  it  ought  to  be,  merely 
spiritual.  The  episcopalians,  however,  sometimes  pretend, 
that  the  ecclesiastical  establishment  in  South  Britain  ex- 
tendfT  here;  but  the  whole  body  of  the  dissenters  are  averse 
to  the  doctrine.  The  point  has  been  disputed  with  great 
fervoii: ,  and  the  sum  of  the  arguments  against  it  is  contained 
in  a  late  paper,  which  I  shall  lay  before  the  reader,  at 
large,  without  any  additional  reflections. 

!t  was  published  in  September  1753,  under  the  title  of 
the  Independent  Reflector,  and  is  in  these  words : — 


The  arguments  in  support  of  an  ecclesiastical  establishment^ 
in  this  province,  impartially  considered  and  refuted, 

Ji'ipe  turpi  ' 

Coilajugo:  liber, liber  sum,  die  age.    Hox. 

Whether  the  church  of  England  is  equally  established  in 
the  colonies,  as  in  the  southern  parts  of  Great  Britain,  is  a 
question  that  has  often  been  controverted.  Those  who  hold 
the  affirmative,  have  drawn  a  long  train  of  consequenrcs  ui 
fitvonr  of  the  episcopalians,  taking  it  for  -'nuted,  that  .fie 


APPENDIX. 


339 


irutli  id  on  tlicir  side.  The  piesbyterians,  independents, 
congregationalists,  anabaptists,  quakers,  and  all  those 
among  us,  who  in  England  would  fall  under  the  general 
denomination  of  dissenters,  are  warm  in  the  negative.  I 
beg  leave,  therefore,  to  interpose  in  the  debate ;  and,  as  I 
promised,  in  the  introduction  to  these  papers,  to  vindicate 
the  religious  as  well  as  civil  rights  and  privileges  of  my 
countrymen,  I  shall  devote  this  paper  to  a  consideration  of 
so  important  a  point:  to  which  I  am  the  more  strongly  inclin- 
ed, because  such  esJablishment  has  often  been  urged  against 
the  scheme  I  have  proposed  for  the  constitution  of  our 
college.  My  opinion  is,  that  the  notion  of  a  general  religious 
establishment  in  this  province  is  entirely  groundless.  Ac- 
cording-to  the  strict  rules  of  controversy,  the  onus  probandi, 
or  the  burden  of  the  proof,  lies  upon  those  who  affirm  the 
position  ;  and  it  would  therefore  be  sufficient  for  me  barely 
to  deny  it.  I  shall,  nevertheless,  wave  the  advantage 
of  this  rule  of  the  schools ;  and,  as  becomes  an  impartial 
advocate  for  truth,  proceed  to  state  the  arguments  which 
are  generally  urged  in  support  of  an  establishment.  I  shall 
then  show  their  insufficiency,  and  conclude  wilh  the 
particular  reasons  upon  which  my  opinion  is  founded. 

They  who  assert  that  the  church  of  England  is  established 
in  this  province,  never,  that  I  have  heard  of,  pretended  that 
it  owes  its  establishment  to  any  provincial  law  of  our  own 
making.  Nor  indeed,  is  there  the  least  ground  for  such  a 
supposition.  The  acts  that  establish  a  ministry  in  this,  and 
three  other  counties,  do  not  affect  the  whole  colony ;  and 
therefore,  can  by  no  means  be  urged  in  support  of  a  general 
establishment.  Nor  were  they  originally  designed  to  establish 
the  episcopalians  in  preference  or  exclusion  of  any  other  pro- 
testants  in  those  counties  to  which  they  are  limited.  But  as 
the  proposition  is,  that  the  establishment  of  the  church  of 
England  is  equally  binding  here,  as  in  England,  so  agreeable 
thereto,  the  arguments  they  adduce  are  the  following  : 

First,  That  as  we  are  an  Englisli  colony,  the  constitn- 
(ional    laws    nf  our    mother   cnuiitrv,   aiifecedent    to    tlie 


^ 


ii 


;■   ( 


^ 


«^    -?«^ft> 


3'10 


AFI'ENDIX. 


ii 


i  I 


ii 


I 


V  I  ( 


legislature  of  our  own,  are  binding  upon  us ;  and  therefore,  at 
the  planting  of  this  colony,  the  English  religious  establish- 
ment immediately  took  place. 

Secondly^  That  the  act  which  established  the  episcopal 
church  in  South  Britain,  previous  to  the  union  of  England 
and  Scotland,^extends  to,  and  equally  affects,  all  the  colonies. 

These  are  the  only  arguments  that  can  be  offered  with 
Uie  least  plausibility,  and  if  they  are  shown  to  be  inconclu- 
sive, the  position  is  disproved,  and  the  arguments  of  con- 
sequence must  be  impertinent  and  groundless.  I  shall  begin 
with  the  examination  of  the  first :  and  here  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, for  undoubted  law,  that  every  new  colony,  till  it  has 
a  legislature  of  its  own,  is,  in  general,  subject  to  the  laws  of 
the  country  from  which  it  originally  sprang.  But  that  all 
of  them,  without  distinction,  are  to  be  supposed  binding  upon 
such  planters,  is  neither  agreeable  to  law  nor  reason.  The 
laws  which  they  carry  with  them,  and  to  which  they  are 
subject,  are  such  as  are  absolutely  necessary  to  answer  the 
original  intention  of  our  entering  into  a  state  of  society — 
such  as  are  requisite,  in  their  new  colony  state,  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  their  and  the  general  prosperity ;  such,  with- 
out which  they  will  neither  be  protected  in  their  lives, 
liberty,  or  property :  and  the  true  reason  of  their  being  con- 
sidered, even  subject  to  such  laws,  arises  from  the  absolute 
necessity  of  their  being  under  some  kind  of  government, 
their  supporting  &  colony  relation  and  dependence,  and  the 
evident  fitivoss  of  their  subjection  to  the  laws  of  their  mother 
country,  with  which  alone  they  can  be  supposed  to  be  ac- 
quainted. Even  at  this  day  we  extend  every  general  act  of 
parliament  which  we  think  reasonable  and  fit  for  us,  though 
it  was  neither  designed  to  be  a  law  upon  us,  nor  has  words 
to  include  us,  and  has  even  been  enacted  long  since  we  had 
a  legislature  of  our  own.  This  is  a  practice  we  have  intro- 
duced for  our  conveniency  ;*  but  that  the  English  laws,  so 

*  This  practice  is  very  danj^eroup,  and  is  asi^uniing  little  less  than  a  lei^islatirc 
authoritv. 


V' 


■.ja 


11    i 


APPE^'UU. 


341 


far  as  I  have  distinguished  them,  should  be  binding  uponue, 
antecedent  to  our  having  a  legislature  of  our  own,  is  of  abso- 
lute unavoidable  necessity.  But  no  such  necessity  can  be 
pretended,  in  favour  of  the  introduction  of  any  religious  esta- 
blishment whatsoever ;  because,  it  is  evident  that  different 
societies  do  exist  with  diflerent  ecclesiastical  laws,  or,  which 
is  sufficient  to  my  purpose,  without  such  as  the  English  esta- 
blishment ;  and  that  cir  il  society,  as  it  is  antecedent  to  any 
ecclesiastical  establishments,  is  in  its  nature  unconnected 
with  them,  independent  of  them,  and  all  social  happiness 
completely  attainable  without  them. 

Secondlyj  To  suppose  all  the  laws  of  England,  without 
distinction,  obligatory  upon  every  new  colony  at  its  implan- 
tation, is  absurd,  and  would  effectually  prevent  the  subjects 
from  undertaking  so  hazardous  an  adventure.  Upon  such  a 
.supposition  a  thousand  laws  will  be  introduced,  inconsistent 
with  the  ?tate  of  a  new  country,  and  destructive  of  the 
planters.  To  use  the  words  of  the  late  attorney-general,  sir 
Dudley  Ryder,*  "  It  would  be  acting  the  part  of  an  unskilful 
physician,  who  should  prescribe  the  same  dose  to  every  pa- 
tient, without  distinguishing  the  variety  of  distempers  and 
constitutions."  According  to  this  doctrine,  we  are  subject 
to  the  payment  of  tithes,  ought  to  have  a  spiritual  court,  and 
impoverished,  as  th  :  settlers  of  the  province  must  have 
been,  they  were  yet  liable  to  the  payment  of  the  land  tax. 
And  had  this  been  the  sense  of  our  rulers,  and  their  conduct 
conformable  thereto,  scarce  ever  would  our  colon'  have 
appeared  in  their  present  flourishing  condition;  espei  Ay  if 
it  be  considered,  that  the  first  settlers  of  most  of  them,  sought 
an  exemption  in  these  American  wilds,  from  the  establish- 
ment to  which  they  were  subject  at  home. 

Thirdly,  If*''"  "planters  of  every  new  colony  carry  with  them 
the  establish^  ioiigion  of  the  country  from  whence  they 
migrate ;  it  follows,  that  if  a  colony  had  been  planted  when 


4 


1 


^ 


■i 


*=  Afterwards  lord  chief  justice  of  the  King's  Bench.    These  were  his  words, 
in  an  opinion  against  the  extent  of  the  statute  of  frauds  and  perjurieK. 


342 


AI'I'KMHX. 


{I 


V 


)! 


hi 


the  English  nation  were  pjiiraiH,  (he  estabhshmcul  in  tiucli 
colony  nnist.  he  paganism  alone  :  and,  in  like  manner,  had 
this  colony  been  planted  while  popery  was  eatah'  :hed  in 
England,  the  religion  of  papists  must  have  been  our  esta- 
blished reliifion ;  and  if  it  is  our  duty  to  conform  to  tlie  reli- 
gion established  at  home,  we  ^-p  equally  bound,  against 
conscience  and  the  bible,  to  be  pagans,  papists,  or  protest- 
ants,  according  to  the  particuKir  religion  they  shall  please  to 
adopt.  A  doctrine  that  can  never  be  urged,  but  with  a  very 
ill  grace  indeed,  by  any  protestant  minister  ! 

Fourthly,  If  the  church  of  England  is  established  in  this 
colony,  it  must  cither  be  founded  on  acts  of  parliament,  or 
the  common  law.  That  it  is  not  established  by  the  first,  I 
sliall  prove  in  the  sequel ;  and  tliat  it  cannot  be  established 
by  the  common  law,  appears  from  the  following  considera- 
tions : 

The  common  law  of  England,  properly  defined,  consists 
of  those  general  laws  to  which  the  L  iglish  have  been  accus- 
tomed from  time  whereof  there  is  no  memory  to  the  contrary; 
and  every  law  deriving  its  validity  from  such  immemorial 
custom,  must  be  ^arried  back  as  fnr  as  to  the  reign  of  Richard 
I.  whose  deatii  nappened  vn  itie  ith  of  April.  I  !>9.  But 
the.  present  establishment  of  the  uirch  of  '  igland  was 
not  till  the  fifth  year  of  qiM'en  Anne.  And  In  nee  it  is  appa- 
rent, that  the  establishment  of  the  -ch  of  England  can 
never  be  argued  from  the  common  law,  even  in  England  ; 
nor  could  be  any  part  of  it,  since  it  depends  r  for  its  vali- 
dity upon  custom  immemorial.  And  iherefore,  though  it  be 
admitted,  that  every  English  colony  is  subject  to  the  common 
law  of  the  realm,  it  by  no  means  follows,  that  the  church  of 
Enarland  is  established  in  the  colonies  ;  because  the  common 
law  knows  of  no  such  religious  establishment,  nor  considers 
any  relig'ouS  establishment  whatever,  as  any  part  of  the 
Enghsh  constitution.  It  does,  indeed,  encourage  religion  ; 
but  that,  and  a  particular  church  government,  are  things 
entirely  different. 

I  prncerd  now  to  n  considovntjon  of  the  second  argumeni 


APPENIJIX. 


:J4S 


insisted  on  to  prove  an  episcopal  cstabliHlnneni  in  the  colo- 
nies, founded  on  the  a(;t  whidi  established  the  church  of 
Enghind,  passed  in  the  fifth  year  of  queen  Anne,  recited  and 
ratified  in  the  act  for  a  union  of  the  (wo  kingdoms  of 
England  and  Scotland.  And  that  this  act  does  not  establish 
the  church  of  England  in  the  colonies,  has  been  so  fully 
shown  by  Mr.  Hobart,*  in  his  second  address  to  the  episco- 
pal separation  in  New-England,  that  I  shall  content  myself 
with  an  extract  from  ('le  works  of  that  ingenious  gentle- 
man, which,  with  very  little  alteration  is  as  follows : 

"  The  act  we  are  now  disputing  about,  was  made  in  the 
fifth  year  of  queen  Ann,  and  is  entitled,  an  act  for  securing 
the  church  of  England  as  by  law  established.  The  occasion 
of  the  statute  was  this :  The  parliament  in  Scotland,  when 
treating  of  a  union  with  England,  were  apprehensive  of  its 
endangering  their  ecclesiastical  establishment.  Scotland 
was  to  have  but  a  small  share  in  the  legislature  of  Great 
Britain — but  forty-five  members  in  the  house  of  commons, 
which  consists  of  above  five  hundred,  and  but  sixteen  in  the 
house  of  lords,  which  then  consisted  of  near  an  hundred, 
and  might  be  increased  by  the  sovereign  at  pleasure.  The 
Scots,  therefore,  to  prevent  having  their  ecclesiastical  esta- 
blishment repealed  in  a  British  parliament,  where  they  might 
be  so  easily  out-voted  by  the  English  members,  passed  an 
act  previous  to  the  union,  establishing  the  presbyterian 
church  within  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  in  perpetuity,  and 
made  this  act  an  essential  and  fundamental  part  of  the  union 
which  might  not  be  repealed,  or  altered  by  any  subsequent. 
British  parliament ;  and  this  put  the  English  parliament 
upon  passing  this  act  for  securing  the  church  of  England. 
Neither  of  them  designed  to  enlarge  the  bounds  of  their 
ecclesiastical  constitution,  or  extend  their  establishment 
farther  than  xi  reached  before,  but  only  to  seciu'e  and  perpe- 
tuate it  in  its  then  present  extent.  This  is  evident,  not  only 
from  the  occasion  of  tlic  act,  but  from  the  charitable  temper 


) 


*  Aministprofone  of  the  rhurches,at  Fairfield,  in  Conneclirut, 


544 


APVENDIX. 


(I 


the  English  pixrl-'nmfnt  was  under  the  influence  of,  when 
they  pasfled  it.  i'hu  lord  North  and  Grey  ofl'ered  a  rider  to 
be  added  to  the  bill  for  an  union,  viz.  That  it  might  not  ex- 
tend to  an  approbation  or  acknowledgement  of  the  truth  of 
the  preubyterian  way  of  worship,  or  allowing  the  religion  of 
the  church  of  Scotland  to  be  what  it  is  styled,  the  true  pro- 
testant  religion.  But  this  clause  was  rejected.  A  parlia- 
ment that  would  acknowledge  the  religion  of  the  church  of 
Scotland,  to  be  the  true  protestant  religion,  and  allow  their 
acts  to  extend  to  an  approbation  of  the  presbyterian  way  of 
worship,  though  they  might  think  it  best  to  secure  and  per- 
petuate the  church  of  England  within  those  bounds,  wherein 
it  was  before  established,  can  hardly  be  supposed  to  have 
designed  to  extend  it  beyond  them. 

**  The  title  of  the  act  is  exactly  agreeable  to  what  we  have 
said  of  the  design  of  it,  and  of  the  temper  of  the  parliament 
that  passed  it.  It  is  entitled,  an  act  not  for  enlarging  but 
for  securing  the  church  of  England,  and  that  not  in  the 
American  plantations,  but  as  it  is  now  by  law  established ; 
which  plainly  means  no  more  than  to  perpetuate  it  within  it» 
ancient  boundaries. 

"The  provision  made  in  the  act  itself,  is  well  adapted  to 
this  design  ;  for  it  enacts,  that  the  act  of  the  13th  of  Eliza- 
beth, and  the  act  of  uniformity,  passed  in  the  13th  year  of 
Charles  li.  and  all  and  singular  other  acts  of  parliament  then 
in  force  for  the  establishment  and  preservation  of  the  church 
of  England,  should  remain  in  full  force  for  ever ;  and  that 
every  succeeding  sovereign  should,  at  his  coronation,  take 
and  subscribe  an  oath  to  maintain  and  preserve  inviolably 
the  said  settlement  of  the  church  of  England,  as  by  law 
established,  within  the  kingdoms  of  England  and  Ireland, 
the  dominion  of  Wales,  and  town  of  Berwick  upon  Tweed, 
and  the  territories  thereunto  belonging.  This  act  doth  not 
use  such  expressions,  as  would  have  been  proper  and  even 
necessary,  had  the  design  been  to  have  made  a  new  esta- 
blishment; but  only  such  as  are  proper  to  ratify  and  confirm 
an  old  one.     The  settlement,  which  the  king  is  sworn  to  pie- 


(  r 


AI'PKNDIX. 


Mo 


■8ei"ve,  id  leprescnied  as  existing  previou'  '••  lo  tlie  pauuing 
thifl  act,  and  not  as  rnadu  by  it.  The  »voi4  i  of  the  oath 
are,  to  "maintain  and  preserve  inviol.  ))y  t'.e  said  settle-/ 
nient."  If  it  be  asked,  what  Bettlenien:  1  the  answer  must 
be,  a  settlement  heretofortt  made  and  confirmed  by  certain 
statutes,  which  for  the  greater  certainty  and  security  are 
enumerated  in  this  act,  and  tieclared  to  be  unalterable. 
This  ia  the  settlement  the  king  is  Hworn  to  preserve,  and 
this  settlement  has  no  relation  to  us  in  America.  For  the 
act,  which  originally  made  it,  did  not  reach  hither ;  and  this 
act,  which  perpetuates  them,  does  not  extend  them  to  us.'* 

It  ia  a  mistake  to  imagine,  that  the  word  territories 
necessarily  means  these  American  colonies.  "  These  coun- 
tries are  usually  in  law,  as  well  as  other  writings,  styled 
colonies  or  plantations,  and  not  territories.  An  instance  of 
this  we  have  in  the  charter  to  The  Society  for  propagating  the 
gospel  in  foreign  parts."  And  it  is  the  invariable  practice  of 
the  legislature  in  every  act  of  parliament,  both  before  and 
after  this  act,  designed  to  affect  us,  to  use  the  words  colonies, 
or  plantations.  Nor  is  it  to  be  supposed,  that,  in  so 
important  a  matter,  words  of  so  direct  and  broad  an  intent, 
would  have  been  omitted.  "  The  islands  of  Jersey  and 
Guernsey  were  properly  territories  belonging  to  the  kingdom 
of  England  before  the  union  took  place  ;  and  they  stand  in 
the  same  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  since. 
The  church  of  England  was  established  in  these  islands, 
and  the  legislature  intended  to  perpetuate  it  in  them  as  well 
as  in  England  itself;  so  that  as  these  islands  were  not 
particularly  named  in  the  act,  there  was  occasion  to  use  the 
Avord  territories,  even  upon  the  supposition  that  they  did  not 
design  to  make  the  establishment  more  extensive  than  it 
was  before  the  law  passed."  Further,  in  order  to  include 
the  plantations  in  the  word  territories,  we  must  suppose  it 
always  to  mean  every  other  part  of  the  dominions  not 
particularly  mentioned  in  the  instrument  that  uses  it,  which 
is  a  construction  that  can  never  be  admitted :  for,  hence  it 
will  follow,  that  those  commissions  which  give  the  govern- 

VOL.  I — 44, 


A 


I 


3<Ui 


APPENDIX. 


il 


ment  of  a  colony,  and  the  territories  thereon  depending^  in 
Americp^  (and  this  is  the  case  of  every  one  of  them)  extend 
to  all  the  American  colonies,  and  their  governors  must  of 
consequence  have  reciprocal  superintendencies;  and  should 
any  commission  include  the  word  territories  generally,  vmre- 
stricted  to  America,  by  tht  same  construction,  the  governor 
therein  mentioned,  might  exercise  an  authority  under  it  not 
only  in  America,  but  in  Africa  and  the  Indies,  and  even 
in  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  and  perhaps,  in  the  absence  of 
the  king,  in  Great  Britain  itself.  Mr.  Hobart  goes  on,  and 
argues  against  the  establishment  from  the  light  in  which 
the  act  of  union  has,  ever  since  it  was  passed,  been  consi- 
dered. 

Dr.  Bisse,  bishop  of  Hereford,  (saysi  he)  a  member  of  the 
society,  preached  the  annual  sermon,  February  21st,  1717, 
ten  years  after  the  act  of  union  took  place ;  and  he  says, 
it  would  have  well  become  the  wisdom  wherewith  that 
great  work  (the  reformation  or  establishment  of  the  i;hurch 
of  England,)  was  conducted  in  this  kingdom,  that  this 
foreign  enterprise,  (the  settlement  of  plantations  in  America,) 
also  should  have  been  carried  on  by  the  government  in  the 
like  regular  way.  But  he  owns  the  government  at  home 
did  not  interpose  in  the  case,  or  establish  any  form  of  religion 
for  us.  In  truth  (says  his  lordship)  the  whole  was  left  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  first  proprietors,  and  to  the  conduct  of 
every  private  man.  He  observes,  that  of  late  years  the 
civil  interest  hath  been  regarded,  and  the  dependance  of  the 
colonies,  on  the  imperial  crown  of  the  realm,  secured :  but 
then,  with  regard  to  the  religion  of  the  plantations,  his 
lordship  acknowledges  that  the  government  itself  here,  at 
home,  sovereign  as  it  is,  and  invested  doubtless  with  suflB- 
cient  authority  there,  hath  not  thought  fit  to  interpose  in 
this  matter,  otherwise  than  in  this  charitable  way :  it  hath 
enabled  us  to  ask  the  benevolence  of  all  good  christians  to- 
wards the  support  of  missionaries  to  be  sent  among  them. 
Thus  bishop  Bisse  thought  as  I  do,  and  that  the  act  of 
union  nor  nny  otliev  law  prior  tlicroto.  did  extend  the  estn- 


V-'' 

.N'%/ 


V, 


AJ'eENUIX. 


34: 


blishment  to  the  plantations;  and  if  the  society  had  not 
been  of  the  same  opinion,  they  would  hardly  have  printed 
and  dispersed  his  sermon.  Neither  did  the  civil  rulers  of 
the  nation,  who  may  justly  be  supposed  acquainted  with  its 
laws,  think  the  act  of  union,  or  any  other  law,  established 
the  church  of  England  in  America.  This  is  plain  from  the 
letter  of  the  lords  justices  to  governor  Dummer,  in  the  year 
1725,  almost  twenty  years  after  the  union,  wherein  they  say, 
there  is  no  regular  establishment  of  any  national  or  provincial 
church  in  these  plantations. 

"  If  it  be  urged,  that  the  king's  commission  to  the  late 
bishop  of  London,  proves  an  ecclesiastical  establishment 
here,  it  is  sufficient  to  answer,  that  his  lordship  was  remark- 
able for  skill  in  the  laws,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  as  appears  from  his  Codex  ;  and  he  was  of  the  con- 
trary opinion,  for  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Colman,  of  May  24, 
1735,  he  writes  thus  :  "My  opinion  has  always  been,  that 
the  religious  state  of  New  England  is  founded  in  an  equal 
liberty  to  all  protestants — none  of  which  can  claim  the 
name  of  a  national  establishment,  or  any  kind  of  superiority 
over  the  rest."  This  opinion  the  bishop  gave  not  only  since 
the  act  of  imion,but  even  seven  years  after  he  had  received 
his  commission,  and  surely  it  must  be  admitted,  that  as  he 
had  time  enough  to  consider  it,  so  he,  of  all  others,  best  un> 
derstood  it."  Thus  far  Mr.  Hobart.  With  respect  to  the 
act  of  union,  I  beg  leave  only  to  subjoin,  that  it  is  highly 
probable  the  Scotch  parliament  believed  the  English  intended 
to  establish  their  church  only  in  England.  For  in  the  close 
of  the  act,  by  which  they  had  established  the  presbyterian 
church  in  Scotland,  it  is  declared  in  these  express  words,  that 
the  parliament  of  England  may  provide  for  the  secxnity  of 
the  church  of  England,  as  they  think  expedient,  to  take 
place  within  the  bounds  of  the  naid  kingdom  of  England. 
And  whatever  latitude  the  word  kingdom  has  in  common 
speech,  it,  in  a  legal  sense,  is  limit*,  d  to  England,  properly 
so  called,  and  excludes  tlie  plantations. 

Nor  can  we  suppose,  thnt   thr;   rhnirh   of   Enerland  if^ 


I 


348 


APPENDIX. 


Vm]     ,  y 


n 


established  in  these  colonies,  by  any  acts  prior  to  tlie  act  ol' 
union  above  considered.  For  besides  the  several  opinions 
against  such  supposition  already  adduced,  it  is  unreasonable 
to  imagine,  that  if  there  was  any  such  establishment,  king 
Charles  II.  in  direct  repugnancy  thereto,  should  have  made 
the  grant  of  Pennsylvania,  and  given  equal  privileges  to  all 
religions  in  that  province,  without  even  excepting  the 
Roman  catholics ;  and  that  the  colonies  of  Rhode-Island, 
Connecticut,  and  the  Massachusett's  Bay,  should  be  permit- 
ted to  make  their  provincial  establishments,  in  opposition  to 
ah  antecedent  establishment  ol'the  church  of  England,  espe- 
cially, as  the  laws  of  the  Massachusett's  Bay  province  are 
constantly  sent  home,  and  tiie  king  has  the  absolute  power 
of  repealing  every  act  he  should  think  improper  to  be 
cojitinued  as  a  law.  Whoever,  therefore,  considers  this,  and 
that  the  king  is  sworn  to  preserve  the  church  of  England 
establishment,  must  necessarily  conclude,  that  whatever 
sentiments  may  obtain  among  the  episcopalians  in  America, 
our  kings  and  their  councils  have  always  conceived  that 
such  establishment  could  by  no  means  be  extended  to  us. 
As  to  Connecticut,  all  tlif^  episcopalians  of  that  colony,  and 
even  their  ministers,  Avere  legally  compellable  to  contribute 
to  an  annual  tax  for  the  p'^pport  of  the  congregational  clergy, 
till  of  late  they  were  fav(Hired  with  a  law  which  grants  them 
a  privilege  of  exemption  Irom  that  iniquitous  and  unreason- 
able burden.  But  whether  they  are  subject  to  the  like 
unchristian  imposition  in  the  other  colonies  above  mentioned, 
I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  their  laws  to  deter- 
mine.* 

The  13th  number  of  the  Watch  Tower  published  at  New- 
York,  in  1755,  espouses  the  same  side  with  the  author  of  the 
Reflector,  adds  several  new  arguments  and  the  opinions  of 
eminent  coimsel  at  law,  and  considers  the  force  of  what  is 

*  I  believe  there  is  no  just  cause  for  the  complaints  transmitted  by  the  mis- 
sionaries. Dr.  Douglass  assigns  several  instances  of  gross  misrepresentations 
and  falsehoods.— Vid.  his  Summary,  2d  vol.  p.  139.  Boston  edit.  1753,  and  the 
Watch  Tower.  No.  XLI.  published  at  New-York,  in  i75^. 


if 


'*^y 


«    «M«^  


APPIiNDlX. 


349 


advanced  by  the  late  Dr.  Douglass  iu  favour  of  his  position, 
Ihat  the  religious  state  of  the  American  plantations  is  an 
universal  toleration  of  protestants  of  every  denomination. 

The  clergy  of  this  province  are,  in  general,  but  indiffer- 
ently supported  :  it  is  true  they  live  easily,  but  few  of  them 
leave  any  thing  to  their  children.  The  episcopal  missiona- 
ries, for  enlarging  the  sphere  of  their  secular  business,  not 
many  years  ago  attempted,  by  a  petition  to  the  late  governor 
Clinton,  to  engross  the  privilege  of  solemnizing  all  marriages. 
A  great  clamour  ensued,  and  the  attempt  was  abortive. 
Before  that  time  the  ceremony  was  even  performed  by 
justices  of  the  peace,  and  the  judges  at  law  have  determined 
such  marriages  to  be  legal.  The  governor's  licenses  now 
run  to  "  All  protestant  ministers  of  the  gospel."  Whether 
the  justices  act  still,  when  the  banns  are  published  in  our 
churches,  which  is  customary  only  with  the  poor,  I  have 
not  been  informed.  Marriage  in  a  new  country  ought  to 
have  the  highest  encouragements,  and  it  is  on  this  account, 
perhaps,  that  we  have  no  provincial  law  against  such  as 
are  clandestine,  though  they  often  happen,  and,  in  some 
cases,  are  attended  with  consequences  equally  melancholy 
and  mischievous. 

As  to  the  number  of  our  clergymen,  it  is  large  enough  at 
present,  there  being  but  few  settlements  unsupplied  with  a 
ministry,  and  some  superabound.     In  matters  of  religion  we 
are  not  so  intelligent,  in  general,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the 
New-England  colonies ;  but  both  in  this  respect  and  good 
morals,  we  certainly  have  the  advantage  of  the  southern  pro- 
vinces.    One  of  the  king's  instructions  to  our  governors, 
recommends  the  investigation  of  means  for  the  conversion 
of  negr  oes  and  Indians.     An  attention  to  both,  especially  the 
latter,  has  been  too  little  regarded.     If  the  missionaries  of 
the  English  Society  for  propagating  the  gospel,  instead  of 
being  seated  in  opulent  christianized  towns,  had  been  sent 
out  to   preach  among  the  savages,  unspeakable  political 
advantage?  would  have  flowed  from  such  a  salutary  mea- 
sure.    Dr.  Douglass,  a  sensible,  immethodiral  writer,  often 


-  -  -fi 


rJ5U                                                   APPENDIX. 

incorrect,  expects  too  much:*  besides,  he  treats  the  missiona* 

ries  witii  rudeness  and  contempt,  and  lafthen  their  indolence 

with  unmerciful  acrimony. 

CHAPTER  V. 


THE    POLITICAL    STATE. 


.  r 


This  colony,  as  a  part  of  the  king's  dominions,  is  subject 
to  t.,e  control  of  the  British  parliament,  but  its  more  imme- 
diate government  is  vested  in  a  governor,  council,  and 
gen  sral  assembly. 

The  governors  in  chief,  who  are  always  appointed  by  the 
king's  commission  under  the  great  seal  of  Great  Britain, 
enjoy  a  va:it  plenitude  of  power,  as  may  be  seen  in  their  pa- 
tents, which  are  nearly  the  same.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  that  to  the  late  sir  Dan  vers  Osborn. 

George  II.  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France 
and  Ireland,  king,  defender  of  the  faith,  and  so  forth.  To 
our  trusty  and  well  beloved  sir  Danvers  Csbom  baronet>  greet- 
ing, whereas  we  did  by  our  letters  patent  under  our  great 
seal  of  Great-Britain,  bearing  date  at  Westminster,  the  third 
day  of  July,  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  our  reign,  constitute  and 
appoint  the  honourable  George  Clinton  esq.  captain  general 
and  governor  in  chief  in  and  over  our  province  of  New-York, 
and  the  territories  depending  thereon  in  America,  for  and 
dting  our  wi!'  and  pleasure,  as  by  the  said  recited  letterti 
patent,  (relation  being  thereunto  had)  may  more  fully  and 
at  large  appear.     Now  know  you  that  we  have  revoked  and 

*  "  Our  young  missionarios  may  procure  a  perpetual  alliance,  and  commercial 
advantages  with  the  Indians,  which  the  Roman  catholic  clergy  cannot  do , 
because  they  are  forbid  to  marry.  I  moan  our  missionaries  may  intermarry  with 
the  daughters  of  the  Sachems,  an-J  other  considerable  Indians,  and  their  progeny 
will  forever  be  a  certain  cement  between  us  and  the  Indians."  Dougl.  Sum . 
Sir..  Vol.  IT.  p.  J.38.  Boston  V/ii\.  Mri?,. 


APFENOIA. 


351 


deteiinined,  and  by  these  presents  do  revoke  and  determine, 
the  said  recited  letters  patent,  and  every  clause,  article,  and 
thing  therein  contained.    And  further  know  you,  that  we 
reposing  especial  trust  and  confidence  in  the  prudence, 
courage,  and  loyalty,  of  you,  the  said  sir  Dan  vers  Osborn, 
of  our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere  motion, 
have  thought  fit  to  constitute,  and  appoint  you,  the  said 
sir  Danvers  Osborn,  to  be  our  captain  general,  and  governor 
in  chief  in  and  over  our  province  of  New-York,  and  the  territo- 
ries depending  thereon  in  America,  and  we  do  hereby  require, 
and  command  you  to  do  and  execute  all  things  in  due  man- 
ner, that  shall  belong  unto  your  said  command  and  the  trusf. 
we  have  ro  posed  in  you,  according  to  the  several  powers  and 
directions  granted  or  appointed  you  by  this  present  com- 
mission, and  the  instructions  herewith  given  you,  or  by  such 
further  powers,  instructions  and  authorities,  as  shall  at  any 
time  hereafter  be  granted  or  appointed  you,  under  our  signet. 
and  sign  manual,  or  by  our  order  in  our  privy  council,  anti 
according  to  such  reasonable  laws  and  statutes  as  now  are 
in  force,  or  hereafter  shall  bfiinade  and  agreed  upon  by  you, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  our  council,  and  the  assembly 
of  our  said  province  under  your  government,  in  such  manner 
and  form  as  is  hereafter  expressed,  and  our  will  and  pleasure 
is  that  you,  the  said  sir  Danvers  Osborn,  after  the  pubUca- 
tion  of  these  our  letters  patent,  do  in  the  first  place,  take  the 
oaths  appointed  to  be  taken  by  an  act  passed  in  the  first 
year  of  our  late  royal  father's  reign,  entitled  an  act  for  the 
further  security  of  his  majesty's  person  and  government, 
and  the  succession  of  the  crown  in  the  heirs  of  the  late 
princess  Sophia,  being  protestants,  in. J  for  extinguishing 
the  hopes  of  the  pretended  prince  of  Wales,  and  his  open 
and  secret  abettors,  as  also  that  you  make  and  subscribe  the 
declaration  mentioned  in  an  act  of  parliament,  made  in  the 
twenty-fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  king  Charles  il.  intituled 
an  act  for  preventing  dangers  which  may  happen  from 
popish  recusants,  and  likewise  that  you  take  the  usual  oath 
for  the  due  execution  of  the  office  and  trust  of  our  captain 


\ 


l\ 


363 


APPENDIX, 


general,  and  governor  in  chief  in  and  over  our  said  province 
of  New-York,  and  the  territories  depending  thereon,  for  the 
due  and  impartial  administration  of  justice,  and  further  that 
you  take  the  oath  required  to  be  taken  by  governors  of 
plantations,  to  do  their  utmost  that  the  several  laws  relating 
to  trade  and  the  plantations  be  observed,  which  said  oaths 
and  declaration  our  council  in  our  said  province,  or  any 
three  of  the  members  thereof,  have  hereby  full  power  and 
authority  and  are  required  to  tender  and  administer  un^ ) 
you  and  in  your  absence  to  our  lieutenant-governor  if  there 
be  any  upon  the  place,  all  which  being  duly  performed  you 
shall  administer  unto  each  of  the  members  of  our  said 
council  as  also  to  our  lieutenant-governor  if  there  be  any 
upon  the  place  the  oaths  mentioned  in  the  said  act  entituled 
an  act  for  the  further  security  of  his  majesty's  person  and 
government,  and  the  succession  of  the  crown  in  the  heirs  of 
the  late  prin;  ess  Sophia,  being  protestants,  and  for  extin- 
guishing the  hopes  of  the  pretended  prince  of  Wales  and  his 
op*^'a  and  secret  abettors,  as  also  to  cause  them  to  make  and 
aubscribe  the  aforementioned  ^^claration  and  to  administer 
to  them  the  oath  for  the  due  execution  of  their  places  and 
trusts.  And  we  do  hereby  give  and  grant  unto  you  full 
power  and  authority  to  suspend  any  of  the  members  of  our 
said  council  from  sitting  voting  and  assisting  therein,  if  you 
shall  find  just  cause  for  so  doing,  and  if  there  shall  be  any 
lieutenant-governor  him  likewise  to  suspend  from  the  execu- 
tion of  his  command,  and  to  appoint  another  in  his  stead 
until  our  pleasure  be  known,  and  if  it  shall  at  any  time 
happen  that  by  the  death  departure  out  of  our  said  province  or 
suspension  of  any  of  our  said  councillors  or  otherwise  there 
shall  be  a  vacancy  in  our  said  council  (any  three  whereof 
we  do  hereby  appoint  to  be  a  quorum)  our  will  and  pleasure 
is  that  you  signify  the  same  unto  us  by  the  first  opportunity, 
that  \.'e  may  under  our  signet  and  sign  manual  constitute  and 
appoint  others  in  their  stead.  But  that  our  affairs  may  not 
suffer  at  that  distance  for  want  of  a  due  number  of  council- 
}oY3  if  ever  it  shoxild  happen  tliat  there  be  less  than  seven 


APPENDIX. 


333 


oi  them  residing  in  our  said  province  we  do  hereby  give  and 
grant  unto  you  the  said  sir  Danvers  Osborn  full  power  and 
authority  to  choose  as  many  persons  out  of  the  principal 
freeholders  inhabitants  thereof  as  will  make  up  the  full 
number  of  our  said  council  to  be  seven  and  no  more,  which 
persons  so  chosen  and  appointed  by  you  shall  be  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  councillors  in  our  said  province  until 
either  they  shall  be  confirmed  by  us  or  that  by  the  nomina- 
tion of  others  by  us  under  our  sign  manual  and  signet  our 
said  council  shall  have  seven  or  more  persons  in  it.  And 
we  do  hereby  give  and  grant  unto  you  full  power  and 
authority  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  our  said  council 
from  time  to  time  as  need  shall  require  to  summon  and  call 
general  assemblies  of  the  aid  freeholders  and  planters 
within  your  government  t  '.cording  to  the  usage  of  our 
province  of  New-York.  And  our  will  and  pleasure  is  that 
the  persons  thereupon  duly  elected  by  the  major  part  of  the 
freeholders  of  the  respective  counties  and  places  and  so 
returned  shall  before  their  sitting  take  the  oaths  mentioned 
in  the  said  act  intitled  an  act  for  the  further  security  of  his 
majesty's  person  and  government  and  the  succession  of  the 
crown  in  the  heirs  of  the  late  princess  Sophia  being  protes- 
tants  and  for  extinguishing  the  hopes  of  the  pretended 
prince  of  Wales  and  his  open  and  secret  abettors  as  also 
make  and  subscribe  the  aforementioned  declaration  (which 
oaths  and  declarations  you  shall  commissionate  fit  persons 
under  our  seal  of  New- York  to  tender  and  administer  unto 
them)  and  until  the  same  shall  be  so  taken  and  subscribed 
no  person  shall  be  capable  of  sitting  though  elected.  And 
we  do  hereby  declare  that  the  persons  so  elected  and 
qualified  shall  be  called  and  deemed  the  general  assembly 
of  that  our  province  and  the  territories  depending  thereon. 
And  you  the  said  sir  Danvers  Osborn  by  and  with  the 
consent  of  our  said  council  and  assembly  or  the  major  part 
of  them  respectively  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to 
make  constitute  and  ordain  laws  statutes  and  ordinances 
for  the  public  peace  welfare  ntid  ffond   ffovprnment  of  our 

VOT,.  T. — 4.5 


954 


APPENDIX. 


V 


said  province  and  of  the  people  and  inhabitants  thereof  and 
sucli  others  as  shall  resort  thereto  and  for  the  benefit  of  us 
our  heirs  and   successors,  which  said  laws  statutes  and 
ordinances  are  not  to  be  repugnant  but  as  near  as  may  be 
agreeable  to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  our  kingdorn  of 
Great  Britain,  provided  ihat  all  such  laws  statutes  and 
ordinances  of  what  nature  or  duration  soever,  be  within 
three  months  or  sooner  after  the  making  thereof  transmitted 
unto  us  under  our  seal  of  New-York  for  our  approbation  or 
disallowance  of  the  same  as  also  duplicates  thereof  by  the 
next  conveyance  and  in  case  any  or  all  of  the  said  laws 
statutes  and  ordinances  being  not  before  confirmed  by  us 
shall  at  any  time  be  disallowed  and  not  approved  and  so 
signified  by  us  our  heirs  or  successors  under  our  or  their 
sign  manual  and  signet  or  by  order  of  our  or  their  privy 
council  unto  you  the  said   sir  Danvers  Osborn  or   to  the 
commander-in-chief  of  our  said  province  for  the  time  being 
then  such  and  so  many  of  the  said  laws  statutes  and  ordi- 
nances as  shall  be  so  disallowed  and  not  approved  shall  from 
thenceforth  cease  determine  and  become  utterly  void  and  of 
n  )ne  effect  any  thing  to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstanding. 
And  to  the  end  that  nothing  may  be  passed  or  done  by  our 
said  council  or  assembly  to  the  prejudice  of  us  our  heirs  or 
successors  we  will  and  ordain  that  you  the  said  sir  Danvers 
Osborn  shall  have  and  enjoy  a  negative  voice  in  the  making 
and  passing  of  ail  laws  statutes  and  ordinances  as  aforesaid, 
and  you  shall  and  may  likewise  from  time  to  time  as  you 
shall  judge  it  necessary  adjourn  prorogue  and  dissolve  all 
general  assemblies  as  aforesaid.     And  our  further  will  and 
pleasure  is  that  you  shall  and  may  use  and  keep  the  public 
seal  of  our  said  province  of  New-York  for  sealing  all  things 
whatsoever  that  pass  the  great  seal  of  our  said  province 
under  your  government.    And  we  do  further  give  and  grant 
uiito  you    the  said  sir   Danvers   Osborn  full   power   and 
authority  from  time  to  time  and  at  any  time  hereafter  by 
yourself  or  by  any  other  to  be  authorized  by  you  in  that 
behalf  to  administer  and  ffive  the  aforementioned  oaths  to 


ii 


/ 


AVfUMJl.X. 


add 


all  and  every  such  person  and  persons  as  you  shall  think  fit 
who  shall  at  any  time  or  times  pass  into  our  said  province 
or  shall  be  resident  or  abiding  there.  And  we  do  further  by 
these  presents  give  and  grant  unto  you  the  said  sir  Danvers 
Osbprn  full  power  and  authority  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  our  said  council  to  erect  constitute  and  establish 
i^uch  and  so  many  courts  of  judicature  and  public  justice 
within  our  said  province  under  your  government  as  you  and 
♦hey  shall   think  fit  and  necessary   for   the   hearing  and 
determining  of  all  causes  as  well  criminal  as  civil  according 
to  law  and  equity,  and  for  awarding  execution  thereupon  with 
all  reasonable  and  necessiiry  powers  authorities  fees  and 
privileges  belonging  thereunto  as  also  to  appoint  and  commis- 
sionate  fit  persons  in  the  several  parts  of  your  government  to 
administer  the  oaths  mentioned  in  the  aforesaid  act  intitlcd 
an  act  for  the  further  security  of  his  majesty's  person  and 
government  and  the  succession  of  the  crown  in  the  heirs  of 
the  late  princess  Sophia  being  protestants  and  for  extinguish- 
ing the  hopes  of  the  pretended  prince  of  Wales  ai  d  his  open 
and  secret  abettors  as  also  to  tender  and  administer  the 
aforesaid  declaration  untr.  such  persons  belonging  to  the 
said  courts  as  shall  be  obliged  to  take  the  same.     And  we 
do  hereby  authorize  and  impower  you  to    constitute  and 
appoint  judges  and  in  cases  requisite  commissioners  of  oyer 
and  terminer  justices  of  the  peace  and  other  necessary  ofiicers 
and  ministers  in  our  said  province  for  the  better  adminis- 
tration of  justice  and  putting  the  laws  in  execution,  and  to 
administer  or  cause  to  be  administered  unto  them  such 
oath  or  oaths  as  are  usually  given  for  the  due  execution  and 
performance   of  offices  and  places  and  for  the  clearing  oi 
truth  in  judicial  causes.     And  we  do  hereby  give  and  grant 
unto  you  full  power  and  authority   where  you  shall  see 
cause  or  shall  judge  any  offender  or  offenders  in  criminal 
matters  or  for  any  fines  or  foi-feitures  due  unto  us,  fit  objects 
of  our  mercy,  to  pardon  all  such  offenders  and  to  remit  all 
such  offences  fines    and    forfeitures    (treason  and    wilful 
murder  only  excepted)  in  which  cases  you  shall  likewise 


M 


4 


J 


^-.L 


iioii 


\rfLtiDl\. 


i 


have  power  upon  extraordir<  iiy  occasions  to  grant  repneveb 
to  the  ofTenders  until  and  to  the  intent  our  royal  pleasure 
may  be  known  therein. 

And  we  do  by  these  presents  authorize  and  impower  you 
to  collat  iu  .y  person  or  persons,  to  any  churches,  chapels,  or 
other  ecclesiastical  benefices,  within  our  said  province  and 
territories  aforesaid  as  often  as  any  of  them  shall  happen  to 
be  void.  And  we  do  hereby  give  and  grant  unto  you,  the 
said  sir  Danvers  Osborn,  by  yourself,  or  by  your  captains 
and  commanders,  by  you  to  be  authorized,  full  power  and 
authority  to  levy,  arm,  muster,  command,  and  employ,  all 
persons  whatsoever  residing  within  our  said  province  of 
New-York,  and  other  the  territories  under  your  government, 
and,  as  occasion  shall  serve,  to  march  from  one  place  to 
another,  or  to  embark  them  for  the  resisting  and  withstand- 
ing of  all  enemies,  pirates  and  rebels,  both  at  sea  and  land, 
and  to  transport  such  forces  as  any  of  our  plantations  in 
America,  if  necessity  shall  require,  for  the  defence  of  the 
same  against  the  invasions  or  attempts  of  any  of  our  enemies, 
and  such  enemies,  pirates  and  rebels,  if  there  shall  be  occa- 
sion to  pursue  and  prosecute,  in  or  out  of  the  limits  of  our 
said  province  and  plantations,  or  any  of  them,  and  if  it  shall 
so  please  God,  them  to  vanquish,  apprehend  and  take,  and 
being  taken,  either  according  to  law  to  put  to  death,  or  keep 
and  preserve  alive  at  your  discretion,  and  to  execute  martial 
law  in  time  of  invasion,  or  other  times  when  by  law  it  may 
be  executed,  and  to  do  and  execute,  all,  and  every  other 
thing  and  things,  which  to  our  captain-general,  and  go- 
vernor-in-chief, doth,  or  ought  of  right  to  belong.  And  we  do 
hereby  give,  and  grant  unto  you,  full  power  and  authority, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  our  said  council,  to 
erect,  raise,  and  build,  in  our  said  province  of  New- York, 
and  the  territories  depending  thereon,  such,  and  so  many 
forts  and  platforms,  castles,  cities,  boroughs,  towns  and  forti- 
fications, as  you  by  the  advice  aforesaid  shall  judge 
necessary,  and  the  same,  or  any  of  them,  to  fortify  and 
furnish  wilh  ordnance,  ammunition,  and  all  sorts  of  arm?. 


,,  ►>"* 


^»^, 


AffENDIX, 


w 


go- 
do 


tit  and  neceasary  for  the  security  and  defence  of  oiir  said 
province,  and  by  the  advice  aforesaid,  th;;  name  agfain,  or 
any  of  them  to  demolish  or  dismantle  as  may  Ik.  most  con- 
venient. And  forasmuch  as  divers  mutinies  and  disorders  may 
happen  by  persons  shipped  and  employed  at  sea  during  the 
time  of  war,  and  to  the  end  that  such  as  shall  be  shipped 
aud  employed  at  sea  during  the  time  of  war  may  be  better 
governed  and  ordered,  we  do  hereby  ^ive,  and  grant  unto 
y-"  the  said  sir  Danvers  Osbom,  full  pow^r  and  authority 
0  «   nstitute  and  appoint  captains,  lietrunf'.\rri. .  masters  of 
hi|M,  and  other  commanders  and  of!^c.«^   rue  to  grant  to 
tni  '     captains,  lieutenants,    masters  of  ships    and  other 
immandeis  and  officers  commissions  to  execute  the  law 
aartial  during  the  time  of  war,   according  to  the  direc- 
tions of  two  acts,  the  one  passed  in  the  thirteenth  year  of 
the  reign  of  king  Charles  the  second,  entituled  an   act 
for  the  establishing  articles  and  orders  for  the  regulating 
and  better  government  of  his  majesty's  navies  ships  of  war 
and  forces  by  sea,  and  the  other  passed  in  the  eighteenth 
year  of  our  reign,  entituled  an  act  for  the  further  regulating 
and  better  government  of  his  majesty's  navies  ships  of  war 
and  forces  by  sea,  and  for  regulating  proceedings  upon 
courts  martial  in  the  sea  service,  and  to  use  sUch  proceed- 
ings, authorities,  punisliments,  corrections,  and  executions, 
upon  any  offender,  or  offenders,  who  shall  be  mutinous,  sedi- 
tious, disorderly,  or  any  way  unruly,  either  at  sea,  or  during 
the  time  of  their  abode  or  residence  in  any  of  the  ports, 
harbours,  or  bays  of  our  said  province  and  territories,  as  the 
case  shall  be  found  to  require  according  to  the  martial  law, 
and  the  said  direction  during  the  time  of  war  as  aforesaid, 
provided  that  nothing  herein  contained  sh.  >i  be  construed 
to  the  enabling  you  or  any  by  your  authority  to  hold  plea 
or  have  any  jurisdiction  of  any  offences,  cause,  matter,  oi 
thing,  committed  or  done  upon  the  high  sea,  or  within  any 
of  the  havens,  rivers,  or  creeks,  of  our  said  province  and 
territories  under  your  government,  by  any  captain,  com- 
mander, lieutenant,  master,  officer,  seaman,  soldier,  or  other 


i  f 


v^!^^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATrON 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


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Hiotographic 

Sdences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


vV 


I 


(I 


.   'Si 


358 


APPiBNDlX. 


person  whatsoever,  who  shall  be  in  our  actual  service  and 
pay  in  or  on  board  any  of  our  ships  of  war  or  other  vessek 
acting  by  immediate  commission  or  warrant  from  our  cooip 
missicmers  for  executing  the  office  of  our  high  admiral,  or 
from  our  high  admiral  of  Great  Britain,  for  the  time  being 
under  the  seal  of  our  admiralty,  but  that  such  captaia,  com> 
mander,  lieutenant,  master,  officer,  seaman,  soldier,  or  other 
person  so  ofiending,  shall  be  left  to  be  proceeded  against  and 
tried  as  their  offences  shall  require,  either  by  commisnou 
under  our  great  seal  of  Great  Britain  as  the  statute  ot  the 
twenty-eighth  of  Henry  the  eighth  directs,  or  by  comraisuon 
from  ou:  said  commissioners  for  executing  the  office  of  our 
high  admiral,  or  from  our  high  admiral  of  Great  Britain  for 
the  time  being  according  to  the  aforementioned  acts.  Pro- 
vided nevertheless,  that  all  disorders  and  misdemeanors 
committed  on  shore  by  any  captain,  commander,  lieutenant, 
master,  officer,  seaman,  soldier,  u  other  person  whatsoever 
belonging  to  any  of  oui:  ships  of  wsur,  or  other  vessels  acting 
by  immediate  commission  or  warrant  from  our  said  commis- 
sioners for  executing  the  office  of  our  high  admiral,  or  from 
our  high  admiral  of  Great  Britain  for  the  time  being  under 
the  seal  of  our  admiralty,  may  be  tried  and  punished  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  the  place  where  any  such  disorders, 
oflfences,  and  misdemeimors  shall  be  committed  on  shwe, 
notwithstanding  such  offenders  be  in  our  actual  service,  and 
bom  in  our  pay,  on  board  any  such  our  ships  of  war,  or  other 
vessels  acting  by  immediate  commission  or  warrant  from  our 
said  commissioners  for  executing  the  office  of  our  high 
admiral,  or  from  our  high  admiral  of  Great  Britain,  for  the 
time  being  as  afwesaid  so  as  he  shall  not  receive  any  pro- 
tection for  the  avoiding  of  justice  for  such  offences  committed 
on  shore  from  any  pretence  of  his  being  employed  in  oar 
service  at  sea. 

And  our  further  will  and  pleasure  is  that  all  public  monies 
raised,  or  which  shall  be  raised  by  any  act,  to  be  hereafter 
made  within  our  said  province,  and  other  the  territories 
depending  thereon,  be  issued  out  by  warrant  from  you,. by 


t^tlni**  I  in  ii  dflnjwr  v'*M 


APPENDIX. 


959 


bv 


and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  ouf  council,  and  disposed 
of  by  you,  for  the  support  of  the  government,  and  hot  other- 
wise. And  we  do  hereby  Ukewise  givie  and  grant  unto  you 
full  power  and  authority,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  our  said  council,  to  settle  and  agree  with  the  inha- 
bitants of  our  province  and  territories  aforesaid,  for  such 
lands,  tenements  and  hereditaments,  as  now  are,  or  hereafter 
shall  be  in  our  power  to  dispose  of,  and  them  to  grant  to  any 
person  or  persons  upon  such  terms,  and  under  such  moderate 
quit-rents,  services  and  acknowledgments  to  be  thereupon 
reserved  unto  us  as  you,  by  and  with  the  advice  aforesaid, 
shall  think  fit,  which  said  grants  are  to  pass  and  be  sealed 
by  our  seal  of  New-York,  and  being  entered  upon  record  by 
such  officer  or  officers  as  are,  or  shall  be  appointed  thereunto, 
shall  be  good  and  effectual  in  the  law  against  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors.  And  we  do  hereby  give  you  the  said  Sir 
Danvers  Osborn  full  power  to  order  and  appoint  fairs,  marts 
and  markets,  as  also  such  and  so  many  ports,  harbours,  bays, 
havens  and  other  places  for  the  convenience  and  security  of 
shipping,  and  for  the  better  loading  and  unloading  of  goods 
and  merchandises  as  by  you,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
our  said  council,  shall  be  thought  fit  and  necessary.  And 
we  do  hereby  require  and  command  all  officers  and  ministers, 
civil  and  military,  and  all  other  inhabitants  of  our  said  pro- 
vince, and  territories  depending  thereon,  to  be  obedient,  aiding 
and  assisting  unto  you,  the  said  sir  Danvers  Osborn,  in  the 
execution  of  this  our  commission,  and  the  powers  and 
authorities  herein  contained,  and  in  case  of  your  death  or 
absence  out  of  our  said  province,  and  territories  depending 
thereon,  to  be  obedient  aiding  and  assisting  unto  such  person 
as  shall  be  appointed  by  us  to  be  our  lieutenant-governor,  or 
commander-in-chief  of  our  said  province,  to  whom  we  do, 
therefore,  by  these  presents  give  and  grant  all  and  singular 
the  powers  and  authorities  herein  granted,  to  be  by  him 
executed  and  enjoyed  during  our  pleasure  or  until  your 
arrival  within  our  said  province  and  territories,  and  if  upqn 
your  death  or  absence  out  of  our  said  province  and  territories 


360 


ABf^JiDlX. 


V. 


i 


^.i 


(t 


depending  thereon,  there  be  no  person  upon  the  place  conor 
missionated  or  appointed  by.  us  to  be  our  lieutenant-governor 
or  commander-in-chief  of  our  said  province,  our  will  and 
pleasure  is,  that  the  eldest  counsellor,  whose  name  is  Arst 
placed  in  our  said  instructions  to  you,  and  who  shall  a,t  the 
time  of  your  death  or  absence  be  residing  within  our  said 
province  of  New-York,  shall  take  upon  him  the  administra- 
tion of  the  government  and  execute  our  said  commission  and 
instructions,  and  the  several  powers  and  authorities  therein 
contained,  in  the  same  manner  and  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, as  other  our  governor  and  commander-in-chief  of  our 
said  (MTovince,  should  or  ought  to  do  in  case  of  your  absence, 
until  your  return,  or  in  all  cases  until  our  further  pleasure  be 
known  therein,  and  we  do  hereby  declare,  ordain  and  appoint, 
that  you,  the  said  sir  Danvers  Osborn,  shaU  and  may  hold, 
execute  and  enjoy  the  office  and  place  of  our  captain  general 
and  governor-in-chief,  in  and  over  our  province  of  New- 
York,  and  the  territories  depending  thereon,  together  with 
all  and  singular  the  powers  and  authorities  hereby  granted 
unto  you  for  and  during  our  will  and  pleasure.  And  whereas 
there  ore  divers  colonies  adjoining  to  our  province  of  New- 
York  for  the  defence  and  security  whereof  it  is  requisite  that 
due  care  be  ta^n  in  time  of  war  we  have  therefore  thought 
it  necessary  for  our  service  and  for  the  better  protection  and 
security  of  our  subjects  inhabiting  those  parts  to  constitute 
and  appoint  and  we  do  ^  v  these  presents  constitute  and 
appoint  you  the  said  st>  ivers  Osborn  to  be  our  captain 
general  and  commander-iu  chief  of  the  militia  and  of  all  the 
forces  by  sea  and  land  within  our  colony  of  Connecticut  and 
of  all  our  forts  and  places  of  strength  within  the  same  and 
for  the  better  ordering  governing  and  ruling  our  said  militia 
and  all  our  forces  forts  and  places  of  strength  within  our 
said  colony  of  Connecticut  we  do  hereby  give  and  grant 
unto  you  the  said  sir  Danvers  Osborn  and  in  your  absence 
to  our  commander-in-chief  of  our  province  of  New- York  all 
and  every  the  like  powers  as  in  these  presents  are  before 
^[ranted  and  recited  for  the  ruling-  governing-  and  ordering- 


••  '^-  *rj^  A  ^•£r.^"*"  'f^" 


^v 


APPENDIX. 


3tii 


our  militia  and  all  our  forces  forts  and  places  of  strength 
within  our  province  of  New- York  to  be  exercised  by  you  the 
said  Sir  Danvers  Osborn  and  in  your  absence  from  our  terri- 
tories and  dominion  of  New-York  by  our  commander-in-chief 
of  our  province  of  New- York  within  our  said  colony  of  Con- 
necticut for  and  during  our  pleasure.  In  witness  whereof 
we  have  caused  these  our  letters  to  be  made  patent  witness 
ourself  at  Westminster  the  first  day  of  August  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  year  of  our  reign. 

By  writ  of  privy  seal, 

YORKE  AND  VORKE. 

The  instructions,  received  with  the  commission,  are  ex- 
planatory of  the  patent,  and  regulate  the  governor's  conduct 
on  almost  every  common  contingency.* 

The  salary  generally  granted  to  the  governor  by  tlie 
instructions  is  i^l200  sterling  out  of  the  revenue  here  ;  but 
that  being  an  insufficient  fund,  the  assembly  in  lieu  of 
it,  give  him  annually  .£1560  currency.  The  perquisites 
perhaps  amount  to  as  much  more. 

This  office  wd  s  formerly  very  lucrative,  but  becomes  daily 
less  considerable,  because  almost  all  the  valuable  tracts  of 
land  are  already  taken  up. 

The  council,  when  full,  consists  of  twelve  members  ap- 
pointed by  the  King's  mandamus  and  sign  manual.  All 
their  privileges  and  powers  are  contained  in  the  instructions. 
They  are  a  privy  council  to  the  governor,  in  acts  of  civil 
government ;  and  take  the  same  oath  administered  to  the 
King's  council  in  England.  The  tenure  of  their  places  is 
extremely  precarious,  and  yet  their  influence  upon  the  pub- 
lic measures  very  considerable.  In  the  grant  of  all  patents 
the  governor  is  bound  to  consult  them,  and  regularly  they 
cannot  pass  the  seal  without  their  advice. 

*The  instructions  are  in  number  above  a  hundred,  and  never  recorded. 
They  are  changeable  at  the  King's  pleasure,  but  rarely  undergo  any  very  con- 
sideraUe  alteration. 

VOL.  II. — 40 


> 


mi 


APPENDIX. 


1 


It    ' 


If 


They  enjoy  a  legislative  power,  as  the  lords  do  in  parlia- 
ment ;  and  exercise  also  judicial  authority  upon  writs  of 
error  and  appeals.  They  are  conveyed  by  the  governor, 
and  he  is  always  present  when  they  sit  as  a  court  or  privy 
council,  which  is  ordinarily  at  the  fort.  In  their  legislative 
capacity  they  meet  without  the  governor,  and  always  at  the 
city-hall.  They  sit  according  to  their  seniority,  and  the 
eldest  member  present  is  speaker  of  their  house.  In  a 
committee  the  chairman  has  no  voice.  They  cannot  vote  by 
proxy,  but  have  the  privilege  of  entering  their  dissent,  and 
the  reasons  at  large,  on  their  minutes.  Their  proceedings 
are  very  formal,  and  in  many  respects  they  imitate  the 
example  of  the  lords.  Their  messages  to  the  assembly  are 
carried  by  one  of  their  own  members,  and  the  house 
always  rises  at  his  entrance  and  receives  them  standing. 

The  council  nevei*  publish  their  legislative  minutes,  but 
the  assembly  always  print  their  own  votes,  nor  do  either 
of  these  houses  peroiit  stirangers  to  be  present  at  their 
conventions. 

A  counsellor's  title  is  t]u  honourable.  They  serve  his 
majesty  without  salaries.  The  business  of  the  privy  council 
board  is  of  late  very  much  increased,  and  never  had  so  great 
weight  in  the  colony  as  at  present,  which  is  much  owing  to 
the  king's  calling  lawyers  of  reputation  to  the  assistance  of 
his  governors.     The  present  members  are  the  honourable 

Cadwallader  Golden,  Archibald  Kennedt,  James 
Db  Lancet,*  lieutenant-governor,  Daniel  Horsmanden, 
George  Clarke,  jun.  Joseph  Murray,  John  Rutherford, 
Edward  Holland,  sir  William  Johnson,  bart,  John 
Chambers,  William  Smith. 

The  business  in  council  daily  encreases,  and  is  now 
become  very  burdensome,  being  entirely  transacted  by  a 
few  members.  Mr.  Colden  resides  in  the  country;  Mr. 
Clarke  in  England;  Mr.  Rutherford, being  an  officer,  moves 

*  The  office  of  lieutenant-governor  requires  no  service,  except  on  the  deatli 
ur  in  the  absence  of  a  govemor.in>chief.  It  gives  no  rank  in  council,  nor  is  there 
anvsalarr  annexed  to  it, 


AfPKNPlX. 


d^5 


with  the  aripy,  and  sir  William  Johnson  has  hi«  rf  ^id^nce 
in  the  western  part  of  the  county  of  Albany.         ..  <    >        ; 

The  general  assembly  consists  of  twenty-^even  represen- 
tatives chosen  by  the  people,  in  pursuance  of  a  writ  of 
summons  issued  by  the  governor. 

At  the  day  appointed  for  their  appearange,  such  as  are 
elected  convene  themselves  at  the  assembly-chamber,  in  the 
city  of  New-York ;  and,  by  the  clerk  of  the  hovse,  inform 
the  governor  of  their  meeting.  If  they  are  above  thirteen  in 
number,  some  persons  (generally  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
couft)  are  sent  to  the  assembly  chamber  empowered  by  ^ 
commission  to  take  their  oaths  and  subscriptions.  They  are 
then  called  before  his  excellency,  who  recommends  their 
choice  of  a  speaker.  For  that  purpose  they  again  retire, 
and  conduct  the  person  they  elect  into  the  chair,  which  is 
seated  at  the  upper  end  of  a  long  table.  After  that  he  is 
presented  to  his  excellency,  in  the  council  chamber ;  Qiid 
upon  his  approbation  of  their  choice,  which  is  of  course,  the 
speaker  addresses, himself  to  the  governor,  ^nd  in  behalf  of 
the  house  prays,  "  that  their  words  and  actions  may  have  a 
favpurahle  construction,  that  the  members  may  have  fre^ 
access  to  him,  and  they  and  their  servants  be  privileged  with 
a  freedom  from  arrests."  The  governor,  after  promising 
these  things  on  his  part,  reads  his  speech  to  both  houses  ; 
and,  at  the  request  of  the  speaker,  delivers  a  copy  for  the  use 
of  the  assembly. 

I  need  not  enlarge  upon  the  customs  of  the  general 
assembly,  for  they  take  the  practice  of  the  British  House  of 
Commons  for  their  model,  and  vary  from  them  in  but  very 
few  instances.  Money  bills  are  not  returned  to  them  by  the 
council  hoard,  as  the  lords  do  to  the  commons ;  and  yet  the 
reasons  for  this  practice  are  much  stronger  here  than  at 
home.  When  the  governor  passes  the  bill  sent  up  to  him, 
both  houses  are  present  in  the  council  chamber.  It  is  then 
ct:^tomary  for  him  to  ask  the  advice  of  his  council  with 
respect  to  every  bill,  and  he  signs  them  at  the  foot  after 
these  words,  "  I  assent  to  this  bill,  enacting  the  same,  and 


'f 


i 


SG4 


APPENDIX. 


order  it  to  be  enrolled."  After  that  the  acts  are  published  in 
the  open  street,  near  the  City-Hall ;  his  excellency  and  the 
two  houses  being  present. 

The  daily  wages  of  the  representatives,  as  regulated  by 
sundry  acts  of  assembly,  are  annexed  to  the  following  list  of 
the  present  members  of  ths  house. 

For  the  city  and  county  of  ^ew-York — Paul  Richard,  Henry 
Cruger,  William  Walton,  John  Watts,  esqrs. ;  each  6«. 
per  diem. 

City  and  county  of  Albany — Peter  Winne,  Peter  Douw,  esqrs. ; 
lOa.  per  diem. 

We8t-che$ter  county — John  Thomas,  Frederick  Philipse,  esqrs. ; 

68.  per  diem. 

Suffolk  county — Eleazer  Miller,  William  Nicoll,  esqrs. ;  9s. 

per  diem. 
Queen*8  county — David  Jones,  Thomas  Cornel,  esqrs. ;  69. 

per  diem. 
JKSng'a  county — Johannes  Lott,  Dominicus  Vanderveer,  esqrs. ; 

69.  per  diem. 

Ulster  county — Johannes  Jansen,  Moses  De  Pew,  jun.  esqrs. ; 

6«.  per  diem. 
Richmond  county — William  Walton,  Benjamin  Seamen,  esqrs. ; 

68.  per  diem. 
Dutche88  county — Henry  Beekman,  Henry  Filkin,  esqrs. ;  68. 

per  diem. 
Orange  county — Theodorus  Snediker,  Samuel  Gale,  esqrs. ; 

6».  per  diem. 
Borough  of  West'Chester — Peter  De  Lancey,  esq. ;  lOs.  per 

diem. 
Towtuhip  of  Schenectady. — Jacobus  Mynderse,  esq. ;  10s.  per 

diem. 
Manor  of  Renslaerwyck-— John  B.  V.  Renslaer,  esq. ;  10s.  per 

diem.  • 

Manor  of  Livingston — Robert  Livingston,  Jun.  esq. ;  10s.  per 

diem. 
Manor  of  Courtlandt — Philip  Ver  Planck,  esq. ;  6s.  per  diem. 


;•!      ■  ■V.'rJr:  --i.. 


.  *^.  3.      *.?■  >.  _  ..4. 


t\ 


APPENDIX. 


365 


The  continuance  of  our  assemblies  was  u^'limited,  till  the 
political  struggles,  which  took  rise  in  Mr.  Cosby's  administra- 
tion, forced  Mr.  Clarke,  who  succeeded  him,  to  pass  the  act 
restricting  them  to  three  years  :  but  this  was  repealed  by  the 
king,  and  a  septennial  law  enacted  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
governor  Clinton,  which  is  still  in  full  force. 

No  colony  upon  the  continent  has  formerly  sufiered  more 
than  ours,  in  the  opinion  of  the  king's  ministers.  This  has 
been  owing  to  the  ill  impressions  made  by  our  governors, 
who  are  scarce  ever  disengaged  from  disputes  with  the 
lower  house.  Our  representatives,  agreeably  to  the  general 
sense  of  their  constituents,  are  tenacious  in  their  opinion, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony  are  entitled  to  all  the  pri- 
vileges of  Englishmen  ;  that  they  have  a  right  to  participate 
in  the  legislative  power,  and  that  the  session  of  assemblies 
here,  is  wisely  substituted  instead  of  a  representation  in  par- 
liament, which,  all  things  considered,  would,  at  this  remote 
distance,  be  extremely  inconvenient  and  dangerous.  The 
governors,  on  the  other  hand,  in  general,  entertain  political 
sentiments  of  a  quite  different  nature.  All  the  immunities 
we  enjoy,  according  to  them,  not  only  flow  from,  but  abso- 
lutely depend  upon,  the  mere  grace  and  will  of  the  crown.* 
It  is  easy  to  conceive,  that  contentions  must  naturally  attend 
such  a  contradiction  of  sentiments.  Most  of  our  disputes, 
however,  relate  to  the  support  of  government.  Before  lord 
Cornbury's  embezzlements,  the  revenue  was  established  for 


»\ 


II 


per 
per 
per 
per 


*  '*  We  are  no  more  than  a  little  coi  rr  tion. — I  would  adviie  these  gentlemen 
(aMomblies;  for  the  future,  to  drop  ..::(< «  parliamentary  airs  and  stylo  about 
liberty  and  property,  and  keep  within  their  sphere,  and  moke  the  best  use  they 
can  of  his  Majesty's  instructions  and  commission ;  because  it  would  be  high  trea- 
son to  tdt  and  act  without  it. — This  is  onr  charter.  If  we  abuse  or  make  a  wicked 
use  of  his  majesty's  favours,  we  are,  of  them,  but  tenants  at  will :  we  only  hold 
them  during  pleasure  and  good  behaviour." — These  are  the  accurate  and 
bright  thoughts  of  the  gentleman  who  published  a  pamphlet,  entitled,  ''An  essay 
on  the  government  of  the  colonies,"  in  1752.  Sir  William  Jones,  attorney-gene- 
r&l  to  James  II.  was  of  a  very  different  opinion.  For  he  told  the  king,  "■  that  he 
could  no  mure  grant  a  commission  to  levy  money  on  his  subjects  in  the  planta- 
tions, without  their  consent  by  an  assembly,  tlian  they  could  discharge  them- 
selves from  their  allegiance."     Life  of  sir  William  Phips,  p.  23. 


.r.*  .„m^■  - 


306 


APrBNOIX. 


a  long  period,  but  afterwards  reduced  to  a  few  years.  The 
violent  measures  in  Mr.  Cosby's  time,  led  the  assembly  to 
the  scheme  of  an  annual  proTision.  These  are  the  words  of 
that  much  famed  address  of  the  house,  to  lieutenant.gover- 
nor  Clarke,  on  the  8th  of  September,  17S7,  previous  to  the 
change. 

*'  The  true  causes  of  the  deficiency  of  the  revenue,  we 
believe,  are  too  well  known  to  your  honour,  to  make  it  neces- 
sary for  us  to  say  much  on  that  head.  Had  the  conspicuous 
loyalty  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  met  with  a  suita- 
ble treatment  in  return :  it  is  not  unlikely,  but  we  should 
now  be  weak  enough  to  act  like  others  before  us,  in  being 
lavish  beyond  oiu*  abilities,  and  raising  sums  unnecessary  to 
be  given ;  and  continued  the  donation,  like  them,  for  a  longer 
time  than  what  was  convenient  for  the  safety  of  the  inhabi- 
tants :  but  experience  has  shown  the  imprudence  of  such  a 
conduct ;  and  the  miserable  condition  to  which  the  province 
is  reduced,  renders  the  raising  of  large  sums  very  difficult  if 
not  impracticable.  We  therefore  beg  leave  to  be  plain  with 
your  honour,  and  hope  you  will  not  take  it  amise,  when  we 
tell  you,  that  you  are  not  to  expect,  that  we  either  will  raise 
sums  unfit  to  be  raised,  or  put  what  we  shall  raise  into  the 
power  of  a  governor  to  misapply,  if  we  can  prevent  it ;  nor 
shall  we  make  up  any  other  deficiencies,  than  what  we  con- 
ceive are  fit  and  just  to  be  paid ;  or  continue  what  support  or 
revenue  we  shall  raise,  for  any  longer  time  than  one  year. 
Nor  do  we  think  it  convenient  to  do  even  that,  until  such 
laws  are  passed  as  we  conceive  necessary  for  the  safety  of 
the  inhabitants  of  this  colony,  who  have  reposed  a  trust  in 
us  for  that  only  purpose  ;  and  which  we  are  sure  you  will 
think  it  reasonable  we  should  act  agreeable  to,  and  by  the 
grace  of  God  we  will  endeavour  not  to  deceive  them." 

The  sentiments  of  this  address  still  prevail  among  the  peo- 
ple, and  therefore  the  success  of  the  present  solicitations,  for 
a  permanent,  indefinite  support,  will  probably  be  in  vain. 

The  matter  has  been  often  litigated  with  great  fervency 
on  both  sides,  and  the  example  of  the  British  parliament 


htmumx. 


967 


urgtd  as  a  precedent  for  our  imitation.  To  this  it  is  answered 
that  the  particular  state  of  this  province  differs  so  widely 
from  that  of  their  mother  country,  that  we  ought  not  in  this 
respect  to  follow  the  custom  of  the  commons.  Our  constitu- 
tion, as  some  observe,  is  so  imperfect  in  numberless  instan- 
ces, that  the  rights  of  the  people  lie,  even  now,  at  the  mere 
mercy  of  their  governors  ;  and  granting  a  perpetual  support, 
it  is  thought,  would  be  in  reality  little  less  than  the  loss  of 
every  thing  dear  to  them. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  many  plausible  arguments  may 
be  assigned,  in  support  of  the  jealousy  of  the  house.  A  go- 
vernor has  numberless  opportunities,  not  proper  to  be  men- 
tioned, for  invading  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  insuperable 
difficulties  would  necessarily  attend  all  the  means  of  redress. 

By  gradual  advances,  at  seasonable  junctures,  we  might 
have  introduced  such  amendments  as  would  at  this  day 
have  established  a  sound  and  well  fortified  political  frame  ; 
but  through  our  utter  neglect  of  education,  the  ancient  as- 
semblies consisted  of  plain,  illiterate,  husbandmen,  whose 
views  seldom  extended  farther  than  to  the  regulation  of  high- 
ways, the  destruction  of  wolves,  wild  cats,  and  foxes,  and 
the  advancement  of  the  other  little  interests  of  the  particu- 
lar counties  which  they  were  chosen  to  represent. 


J  m 


CHAPTER  VI. 


OF  OUR  LAWS  AND  COURTS. 

■-a         ^ 

The  State  of  our  laws  opens  a  door  to  much  controversy. 
The  uncertainty  with  respect  to  them  renders  voperty  pre- 
carious and  greatly  exposes  us  to  the  arbitrary  decisions  of 
bad  judges.  The  common  law  of  England  is  generally 
received,  together  with  such  statutes  as  were  enacted  before 
we  had  a  legislature  of  our  own;  but  oiu:  courts  exercise  a 
sovereign  authority,  in  determining  what  parts  of  the  com- 
mon and  statute  law  ought  to  be  extended ;  for  it  must  be 


tiHb 


KVritlfDlX. 


^( 


admitted,  that  the  difTerence  of  circumstancei  necemahly 
requires  us,  in  some  cases,  to  reject  the  determinations  of  both. 
in  many  instances  they  have  also  extended,  as  I  have  else- 
where  observed,  even  acts  of  parliament,  passed  since  we 
have  had  a  distinct  legislation,  which  is  adding  greatly  to 
our  confusion.  The  practice  of  our  courts  is  not  less  uncer- 
tain than  the  law.  Borne  of  the  English  rules  are  adopted 
and  othetB  rejected.  Two  things  therefore  seem  to  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  the  public  security. 

Fir$tt  The  passing  an  act  for  settling  the  extent  of  the 
English  laws ;  and, 

Secondly,  That  the  courts  ordain  a  general  set  of  rules  for 
the  regulation  of  the  practice. 

To  give  a  particular  account  of  our  laws  civil  and  criminal, 
cannot  be  expected  in  this  work.  AH  lands  are  held  of  the 
crown  by  socage  tenure,  as  those  of  East-Greenwich,  at 
home,  in  the  county  of  Kent ;  and  the  manner  of  obtaining  a 
title  to  such  as  are  vacant,  or  in  the  posession  of  the  Indians, 
is  this : 

Formerly  the  custom  was  to  apply  to  the  governor  in  coun- 
cil, for  a  license  to  purchase  lands  of  the  Natives  in  his  Ma- 
jesty's name.  A  deed  was  then  privately  obtained  from  the 
Indian  proprietors  to  the  king,  and  annexed  to  a  second  peti- 
tion to  the  governor,  for  a  warrant  to  the  surveyor-general, 
to  make  a  survey  of  the  quantity  purchased.  Another  war- 
rant, upon  tne  return  of  the  survey,  was  then  issued  to  the 
attorney-general,  to  prepare  a  draught  of  the  patent ;  which 
being  transmitted  to  the  secretary's  office,  was  then  engrossed 
upon  parchment,  and  the  great  seal  affixed  to  it  by  the 
governor.    >  , 

In  these  surveys  and  deeds  more  lands  were  often  included 
than  the  Indians  intended  to  sell ;  and  these  frauds  being 
frequently  complained  of,  an  order  was  made  by  the  gover- 
nor and  council,  in  1736,  that  thenceforth  no  Indian  deed 
should  be  taken,  until  the  land  proposed  to  be  granted  was 
actually  surveyed  by  the  surveyor-general,  or  one  of  his 
deputies,  in  the  presence  of  the  Indian  proprietors :  that  tht: 


ArrKAoix. 


SttD 


bouudi  of  tiifl  iract  thoiild  be  tlien  entered  in  the  deed,  and 
a  certiflcate  endorted,  that  they  are  af(reoable  to  the  surrey, 
and  thai  he  saw  the  coniiideralion  money  or  goods,  bona  fide 
delivered  to  the  venders.  The  patenting  of  lands  has  long 
been,  and  still  continues  to  be,  very  expensive. 

Our  law  judicatories  are  numerous ;  I  begin  with  the. 
lowest. 

OP  THE  JUSTIUKS'  COURT. 

Justices  of  the  peace  are  appointed  (>y  commission  from 
I  lie  governors,  who,  to  serve  their  purposes  in  elections,  some- 
times grant,  as  it  is  called,  the  administration  to  particular 
favorites  in  each  county,  which  is  the  nomination  of  ofikers 
civil  and  military ;  and  by  these  means,  the  justices  have 
been  astonishingly  multiplied.  There  are  instances  of  some 
who  can  neither  write  nor  read.*  These  Genii,  besides 
their  ordinary  powers,  are  by  acts  of  ""isembly  enabled  to 
hold  courts  for  the  determination  of  small  causes  of  five 
pounds  and  under ;  but  the  parties  are  privileged,  if  they 
choose  it,  with  a  jury.  The  proceedings  are  in  a  summary 
way,  and  the  eonduot  of  the  justices  has  given  just  cause 
to  innumeraUe  complaints.  The  justices  have  also  a  juris., 
diction  with  respect  to  crimes  under  the  degree  of  grand 
larceny;  for  any  three  of  them  (one  being  of  the  quorum) 
may  try  the  criminal,  without  a  jury,  and  inflict  punishments 
not  extending  to  life  or  limb. 

THE  SESSIONS  AND  COUR1    OP  COMMON  PLEAS. 

The  court  of  Common  Pleas  takes  cognizance  of  all  causes 
where  the  matter  in  demand  is  in  value  above  five  pounds. 
It  is  established  by  an  ordinance  of  the  governo:  in  council. 
The  judges  are  ordinarily  three,  and  hold  their  ofikes  during 
pleasure.  Through  the  infancy  of  the  country,  few,  if  any  of 


the 


'*'  Lord  Bacon's  obaerration,  that  there  are  many  who  count  it  a  credit  to  ho. 
burdened  with  the  office  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  is  very  applicable  to  up. 
Bacon's  Works,  fo».  vol.  IT.  p.  isi.— the  statute  of  38  Hen.  VIII.  limited  the 
number  of  justices  to  eight  in  a  connty. 

VOL.  II.— 47 


I 


:r---^_ 


r. 

V 


370 


■  APlPfiXVOIX. 


them,  are  acquainteu  with  the  law.  The  practice  of  these 
courts  is  similar  to  that  of  the  common-bench  at  Westmin- 
ster. They  have  each  a  clerk,  commissioned  by  the  governor, 
•who  issues  their  writs,  enters  their  minutes,  and  keeps  the 
records  of  the  county.  They  are  held  twice  every  year. 
These  judges,  together  with  some  of  the  justices,  hold,  at  the 
same  time,  a  court  of  general  sessions  of  the  peace. 

THE  SUPREME  COURT. 

'  The  jurisdiction  of  this  court  extends  through  the  whole 
province,  and  its  powers  are  very  great.  For  it  takes  cog- 
nizance of  all  causes  civil  and  criminal,  as  fully  as  the  King's 
Bench  and  Common-Pleas  at  Westminster.  In  civil  contro- 
versies, the  value  of  the  sum  demanded  must  exceed  twenty 
pounds.  This  court  has  four  terms  in  a  year,  and  always  sits 
at  New- York.*  The  judges,  for  many  years  past,  have 
been  but  three.  The  chief  justice  has  ten  shillings  as  a  per- 
quisite, upon  the  first  motion  in  every  cause,  together  with 
an  annual  allowance  of  jCSOO.  The  second  and  third  jus- 
tices have  also  yearly  appointments,  too  inconsiderable  to  be 
worth  mentioning.  They  hold  their  offices  by  separate 
commissions  under  the  great  seal  of  the  province,  which 
were  formerly  during  pleasure,  but  of  late  qtutm  diu  se  btne 
gesserint.lf 

The  Supreme  Court  was  at  first  established  by  several 
laws  of  the  province ;  but  the  terms  were,  afterwards,  directed 
by  an  ordinance  of  the  governor  and  council,  which  is 
alterable  at  pleasure. 

Whether  this  court  has  a  right  to  determine  causes  in  a 
course  of  equity,  was  a  question  much  litigated  during  the 

*  The  terms  commence  on  the  third  Tuesdays  in  Janaarjr,  April,  and  October, 
and  on  the  last  in  July.  The  first  and  the  last  continue  five  days,  and  the  two 
other  terms  ten. 

t  Prosecutions  by  information  are  oflen  commenced  in  the  supreme  court  by 
order  of  the  governor  and  council,  and  criminals  sometimes  committed  by  their 
warrants ;  for  which  reason  some  are  of  opinion,  that  the  judges  ought  not  to  be 
msmbers  of  that  board,  which  is  freqViently  the  rase. 


*-••— r*  ■  '^^i^t— ■ 


■"?, 


AFPEMOtX. 


371 


troubles  in  the  several  administrationa  of  Mr.  Cosby  and  Mr. 
Clarke.  Colonel  Morris,  afterwards  governor  of  New-Jersey, 
sat  then  as  chief  justice  upon  the  bench,  and  delivered  a  long, 
argumentative,  opinion  in  the  negat'  3*  The  people  were, 
in  general,  on  that  side,  and  the  exchequer  court  bell  scarce 
ever  rung,  but  the  city  was  all  in  confusion.  Petitions 
against  the  court,  from  several  parts  of  the  province,  came 
up  to  the  assembly,  who  desired  to  hear  council ;  and  accord- 
ingly Mr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Murray,  delivered  their  opinions  at 
their  request,  both  which  were  afterwards  printed  by  their 
order.  The  former,  who  spoke  first,  urged  numerous  au- 
thorities, to  prove  that  no  couri,  of  equity  could  be  legally 
established  except  by  prescription  or  an  act  of  the  legislature, 
and  concluded  with  these  words : — ",'Tis  with  the  greatest 
submission  that  I  tender  ray  opinion  upon  these  points. — I 
have  said  nothing  with  a  design  to  offend  any  man,  nor 
hA'/a  I  omitted  saying  any  thing,  that  I  thought  might  tend 
to  the  public  good.  Liberavi  animam  meam.  I  have  endea- 
voured to  discharge  the  trust,  and  support  the  character, 
with  which  this  house  has  honoured  me.  You  have  my 
sincere  and  real  sentiments.  If  I  have  erred  in  any  thing,  it 
has  been  unwillingly.  I  am  heartily  a  friend  to  this  colony, 
and  earnestly  wish  its  prosperity.  I  have  no  interest  in  the 
points  in  question,  but  what  are  common  to  all  the  freemen 
of  this  province.  I  profess  the  greatest  veneration  for  the 
laws  of  my  country,  and  am  glad  of  every  opportunity  to  do 
them  public  honour.  They  place  our  liberties  upon  the 
firmest  basis,  and  put  our  properties  under  the  surest  protec- 
tion. I  rejoice  in  the  security  that  we  have  of  a  long  enjoy- 
ment of  them,  by  the  settlement  of  the  succession  in  the 
house  of  Hanover. — '  Tis  the  excellency  of  our  constitution, 
and  the  glory  of  our  princes,  that  they  are  sovereign  over 


irtby 
their 
to  be 


*  See  the  printed  opinion,  and  the  arguments  of  Messrs.  Alexander  and 
Snitth  for  the  defendant  Van  Dam  adsoctum  the  attorney-general ;  in  support 
of  a  plea  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  supreme  court,  on  a  bill  filed  there  for 
governor  Cosby  in  a  conrso  of  pqnity.  New-York,  printed  by  John  B.  Zengeri 
1733. 


5:i 


i?2 


AFFEiNDIX. 


\i 


tieenoen,  and  not  slaves.  'Tis  the  misery  of  an  arbitrary 
g'ovetnmenty  that  a  man  can  enjoy  nothing  under  it  that  he 
can  call  bis  own.  Life,  liberty,  and  property,  are  not  bis,  but 
all  at  the  will  and  disposal  of  his  tyrannical  owner,  i  don't 
wonder  that  our  ancestors  have  been  always  so  jealous  of 
Iheir  liberties  :  how  oil  have  they  bravely  fought,  and  nobly 
died,  in  the  defence  of  them  ?  We  have  received  euf  liberties 
and  our  laws,  as  an  inheritance  transmitted  to  us  in  the 
blood  of  our  ftithers.  How  highly  therefore  should  we  prize 
and  value  them  !  And  what  care  should  we  take,  that  we 
and  our  posterity  may  enjoy  them  in  their  full  extent  ?  If 
this  be  our  happy  case)  we  shall  sit  under  our  own  vines  and 
QUE  own  fig-trees,  and  none  will  make  us  afraid.  We  shall 
see  our  country  flourish,  and  ourselves  a  happy  peofrfe.  But 
if  an  arbitrary  power  over  our  liberties  and  properties  be  let 
in  upon  us,  but  at  a  back  door,  it  will  certainly  drive  many 
of  us  out  of  our  habitations ;  and  'tis  to  be  feared,  will  once 
more  reduce  our  country  to  a  wilderness,  and  a  land  without 
inhabitant :  which  we  doubt  not  but  this  honourable  house 
wiU  take  care  to  prevent." 

Mr.  Murray  laboured  to  show  that  the  chancery,  king's 
bench,  common  pleas,  and  exchequer,  were  of  original 
jurisdiction  by  the  constitution  of  England ;  and  was  fear- 
ful that  our  establishment  of  these  courts  here  by  an  act  of 
assembly,  woukl  draw  into  question  our  equal  rights  to  aHl 
the  liberties  and  privileges  oi  Englishmen.  He  closed  his 
opinion  in  this  manner  :-«- 

"And  now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  in  the  best  manner  that  I 
was  capable  of,  performed  what  this  honourable  house 
desired  of  me,  in  giving  truly  my  sentiments  up<m  the 
subject  matter  of  these  petitions. 

**  Mt.  Smith  in  delivering  his  sentiments  last  Friday,  did 
in  so  handsome  and  elegant  a  manner,  fully  prove  that  the 
people  of  this  colony  are  undoubtedly  entitled  to  the  customs, 
laws,  liberties  and  privileges  of  Englishmen,  that  it  was 
needless  for  me  to  attempt  the  proof  thereof,  which  otherwise 
I  should  have  done.    But  I  do  entirely  agree  with  him,  in  all 


APPENDIX. 


$n 


that  he  said  on  that  head ;  and  I  hope  I  have  proved  that  the 
fundamental  courts,  by  the  laws  of  England,  are  as  much 
part  of  those  liberties  and  privileges,  and  as  much  by  the 
customs  and  laws  of  England,  as  any  other  of  their  liberties 
and  privileges  are ;  and  of  consequence,  the  people  here  as 
much  entitled  to  those  fundamental  courts,  as  to  their  other 
privileges ;  and  have  endeavoured  to  answer  all  the  objections 
that  I  bad  heard  were,  or  thought  could  b«,  made  against 
our  being  entitled  to  the  same  courts.  And  upon  the  whole 
thereof^  as  there  has  been  much  talked  about  the  liberties 
and  privileges  of  the  people,  I  would  beg  leave  only  to  pro- 
pound this  one  question:  Who  is  he  that  argues  most  in  favour 
of  the  liberties  of  the  people  1  He  who  affirms  and  proves, 
thai  they  are  entitled  to  those  liberties  and  privileges,  laws 
and  customs  of  Englaiid,  and  the  good  old  original  courts, 
that  are  by  those  laws,  without  an  act  ?  Or  he  who  argues 
and  says,  we  are  not  entitled  to  them,  until  an  act  is  passed 
to  establish  them  ?  I  suppose  the  answer  would  be  given, 
without  hesitation^  in  favour  of  the  former. 

**  But,  Mr.  Speaker,  if  it  yet  should  be  said,  that  there  is  a 
necessity  for  making  acts  relating  to  those  courts,  I  would 
beg  leave  to  offer  to  this  honourable  house,  the  imitation  of 
such  laws  relating  to  those  courts,  as  the  wise  legislatwe  of 
England  have  thought  fit  to  make.  I  presume,  it  will  not 
be  said,  there  can  be  a  better  pattern  offered  for  the  assembly 
to  go  by.  And  it  is  not  to  be  Supposed,  but  that  the  parlia- 
ment at  home  has  made  all  the  regulations  therein  that  can 
be  thought  necessary ;  whereas  going  into  new  schemes  and 
new  inventions,  may  be  attended  with  many  inconveniences, 
which,  when  they  happen,  may  not  be  so  easily  remedied. 

**And  I  beg  leave  to  conclude,  by  praying  that  €tod 
Altnighty  may  guide,  direct,  and  influence  this  honourable 
house  in  their  debates  and  consultations  upon  this  momen- 
tous affair,  and  that  the  end  thereof  may  be  for  the  good  of 
all  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony.'* 

The  opposition  to  the  exchequer  became  now  stronger 
than  before  the  council  were  heard.     And  therefore,  under 


v\ 


I   I 


374 


APPENDIX. 


these  discouragements,  the  court  has  taken  cognizance  of  no 
causes  since  Van  Dam's,  nor  has  that  indeed  ever  been  deter- 
mined.* .       ,  .  •  .   ■■>.■:■, 


•\ 


\<        t 


1-4      I  ! 

I  ■ 

(  * 

•I  ; 


fft« 


h 


I  f 


"*  Sir  John  ftandolph  wrote  his  sentimenta  concerning  these  disputes  to 
captain  Peatse.  And  as  he  was  an  eminent  lawyer,  in  Virginia,  I  doubt  not 
bis  letter  will  be  acceptable  to  the  reader. 

'*  SIR — By  your  request,  I  have  perused  and  considered  the  arguments  of  Mr. 
Smith  and  Mr.  Murray,  before  the  General  Assembly  of  New-Tork,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  court  of  equity  established  there  in  a  new  court  of  exchequer; 
which  I  perceive  was  done,  principally,  for  determining  a  dispute  between  tha 
goTomor  and  the  president  of  the  council,  about  their  right  to  the  salary 
annexed  to  the  office  of  the  commander-in-chief,  whether  he  be  the  governor 
or  president;  and  it  seems  strange  to  me,  that  upon  such  an  occasion,  so  extra- 
ordinary  a  step  should  be  taken,  as  the  erecting  of  a  new  court,  exempted  fh>m 
the  rules  of  proceeding  at  the  common  law,  when  the  matter  might  have  been 
decided  in  an  action  of  the  case  upon  an  Indebitahu  a$Mumprit,  which  is  the 
settled  method  and  most  expeditious  remedy  in  cases  of  that  nature. 

"  Both  of  these  gentlemen  seem  to  have  agreed  in  one  point,  tliat  it  was 
necessary  to  trace  the  court  of  chancery  and  the  equity  court  in  the  exchequer 
back  to  their  original  institution,  in  order  to  show  whether  the  governor  of  a 
new  plantation  hath  a  power  or  not  to  erect  courts,  in  imitation  of  these  high 
and  ancient  courts  in  England.— And  from  tlieir  researches,  they  seem  to  have 
made  very  different  conclusions.  Mr.  Smith  rightly  concludes  against  the 
legality  of  this  court ;  but  Mr.  Murray  is  afraid  all  must  be  lost,  if  the  four 
fundamental  courts,  as  he  calls  them,  can't  be  obtained  in  New-York. — I  own  I 
don't  understand  the  force  of  this  sort  of  reasoning,  nor  can  I  conceive,  how 
any  inquiry  into  the  original  of  the  high  court  of  chancery,  which  must  after 
all  end  in  a  mere  conjecture,  can  afford  the  least  assistance,  in  forming  a 
right  judgment  upon  this  question,  which  must  depend  upon  the  particular 
constitution  of  these  foreign  colonies. 

"  The  court  of  chancery  in  England  has  its  being  from  custom  and  usage,  to 
which  it  owes  its  legality.  If  it  were  to  be  erected  now  by  the  king's  power  it 
could  not  stand ;  therefore  it  is  undoubtedly  a  great  absurdity  to  suppose,  that 
upon  the  planting  every  new  colony  by  the  subjects  of  England,  new  courts 
must  spring  up,  as  it  were  from  the  roots  of  the  ancient  courts,  and  bo 
established  without  the  consent  of  the  legislature,  because  wo  can  imitate  their 
methods  of  proceeding,  though  we  are  very  imperfect  in  comparison  to  their 
reason  and  judgment.  Then  I  think  there  is  another  impropriety  in  the  debate 
of  this  question ;  they  would  argue  from  the  power  and  prerogative  of  the 
king,  to  entitle  the  governor  to  act  in  the  same  manner.  I  think  before  they 
turn  a  governor  into  a  king,  they  should  take  care,  to  provide  for  him  the  same 
safficiency  of  wisdom  and  as  able  a  council ;  therefore  I  must  suppose,  a  mighty 
difierence  between  the  power  of  a  king  and  the  governors  abroad.  Their 
instructions  as  to  the  erecting  of  courts,  or  the  authorities  granted  in  tlieir 
patents  for  that  purpose,  are  not  now,  as  they  wore  in  the  beginning,  when  there 
were  no  courts;  but  proper  judicatures  being  long  since  ostsblished.  there  is  an 


imm 


4i'i'£Kui:k. 


ilo 


an 


' '  The  judges  cf  this  court,  according  to  an  act  of  assembly, 
are  judges  of  ^isi  Prius  of  course ;  and  agreeably  to  ati 
ordinance  of  the  governor  and  council,  perform  a  circuit 

end  of  their  power  in  that  respect,  and  if  any  alteration  is  found  necessary,  it 
most  certainly  Le  done  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature.    The  kings  of  England 
have  always,  so  far  as  I  am  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  plantations,  used 
a  particular  tenderness  in  the  business  of  erecting  their  courts  of  judicature, 
by  directing  their  governors  to  take  the  advice  of  the  general  assemblies  in  that 
matter,  and  I  dare  say,  that  if  the  patents  and  instructions  of  the  governor  of 
New-York  were  to  be  inspected,  no  sufficient  warrant  will  be  found  in  them,  to 
exercise  this  high  power  of  setting  up  new  courts.    But  be  that  as  it  will,  this 
is  most  manifest,  that  setting  up  one  or  more  men,  with  power  to  judge  men's 
properties,  by  other  rules  than  those  of  the  common  law,  by  which  alone  we  of 
the  plantations  mv»*  be  governed,  must  subject  the  estates  of  that  people  to  an 
arbitrary  rule,  so  far  us  they  are  restrained  from  appealing  to  an  higher  jurisdic- 
tion, and  may  enslave  them  to  the  weak,  if  not  coirupt,  judgments  of  those  men. 
It  really  seems  to  be  a  singular  misfortune  to  the  people  of  New-Tork,  that  a 
question  of  this  nature  should  be  so  far  countenanced,  as  to  become  a  subject  of 
argument,  when  I  believe,  in  any  other  colony,  it  would  not  have  been  thought 
a  matter  of  any  doubt  or  the  least  difficulty.    But  above  all,  it  is  most  extrava- 
gant, that  a  court  of  equity  should  be  erected,  for  the  trial  of  a  cause  of  which, 
without  doing  violence  to  its  nature,  it  cannot  have  any  jurisdiction ;  and  I 
have  wondered,  in  so  warm  a  debate,  that  this  point  has  been  passed  over. 
I  think  nothing  could  entitle  the  court  of  equity  to  proceed  in  the  cause  be- 
tween the  governor  and  Van  Dam,  unless  there  was  a  want  of  proof  of 
Van  Dam's  receiving  the  money  in  dispute,  which  I  suppose  is  impossible,  since 
it  most  have  issued  out  of  the  public  treasury  of  the  provmce.    If  I  had  been 
to  have  argued  this  point,  I  should  have  taken  a  very  different  method  from 
those  gentlemen.  Instead  of  taking  so  much  pains,  in  running  through  so  many 
book  cases,  to  settle  what  the  constitution  of  England  is,  I  would  have  stated 
the  constitution  of  this  particular  government,  as  it  is  grounded  either  upon 
treaties  or  grants  from  the  crown  of  England ;  for  as  New-York  was  a  conquered 
country,  it  ia  very  probable  something  may  have  been  stipulated  between  the 
States  General  and  the  crown  of  England,  in  behalf  of  the  subjects  of  Holland, 
which  were  left  there  in  possession  of  their  estates,  and  so  became  subjects  to 
England.    If  there  was  any  such  treaty,  that  must  be  looked  upon  as  the  funda- 
mental law  of  the  province ;  and  next  to  that,  the  king's  charter  must  take  place. 
I  don't  at  all  doubt,  but  some  way  or  other,  the  common  law  was  established 
there,  and  if  not,  as  there  is  a  legislature,  I  suppose  it  is  adopted  by  the  ccuntiy ; 
for  there  is,  undoubtedly,  a  great  difference  between  the  people  of  a  conquered 
country,  and  colonies  reduced  by  the  king's  consent  by  the  subjects  of  England. 
The  common  law  follows  them  wherever  they  go,  but  as  to  the  other,  it  must 
rise  either  from  treaties  or  grants;  therefore  it  is  a  pity  every  thing  in  relation 
to  this  matter  has  been  omitted,  which  would  have  been  of  great  use  to  tliose 
who  are  unacquainted  with  the  .facts,  in  forming  a  judgment  in  this  case.  I  can't 
forbear  obrorving  a  mighty  weakness  in  the  lawyers  of  New- York,  in  blindly 


i     » 

ii 


V 


f 

t 

Y 


1  V 

>'    I 


97tf 


Arfumnx. 


r 


). .- 


i  1 


i 


through  the  countiey  once  every  year.  They  carry  with 
them,  at  the  same  time,  a  commiesion  of  oyer  and  terminer 
and  general  jail  delivery,  in  which  some  of  the  county  jus- 
tices are  joined. 

The  judges  and  practisers  in  the  supreme,  and  all  other 
courts,  wear  no  peculiar  habits  as  they  do  at  Westminster- 
Hall  and  in  some  of  the  West-India  islands ;  nor  is  there,  as 
yet,  any  distinction  or  degrees  among  the  lawyers. 

The  door  of  admission  into  the  practice  is  too  open.  The 
usual  preparatories  are  a  college  or  university  education,  and 
three  years*  apprenticeship ;  or,  without  the  former,  seven 
years'  service  under  an  attorney.  In  either  of  these  cases,  the 
chief  justice  recommends  the  candidate  to  the  governor,  who 
thereupon  grants  a  license  to  practise,  under  his  hand  and 
seal  at  arms.  This  being  produced  to  the  court,  the  usual 
state  oaths  and  subscription  are  taken,  together  with  an  oath 
for  his  upright  demeanour,  and  he  is  then  qualified  to  prac- 
tise in  every  court  in  the  province.  Into  the  county  courts, 
attornies  are  introduced  with  still  less  ceremony.  For  our 
governors  have  formerly  licensed  all  perstnas,  how  indifferently 
soever  recommended;  and  the  profession  has  been  shame- 
fully disgraced  by  the  admission  of  men  not  only  of  the 
meanest  abilities^  but  of  the  lowest  emplojrments.  The  pre- 
sent judges  of  the  supreme  court  are  the  honourable  (for  that 
is  their  title) 

James  De  Lanceit,  esq.  chief  justice. 

John  Chambers,  esq.  second  justice. 

Daniel  Horsmanden,  esq.  third  justice. 
They  have  but  two  clerks:  one  attendant  upon  the  supreme 


foUowing  a  eommon  error,  in  relBtion  to  the  staitotea  of  Englaad  being  in  Totce 
then;  whereas  there  is  no  foundation  in  sense  or  reason  for  soeh  an  opinion. 
Tlie  common  law  must  be  the  only  rule,  and  if  we  wado  into  tiie  statotes,  no 
man  can  tell  what  the  law  is.  It  is  certain  all  of  them  cant  bind,  and  to  know 
which  do,  was  always  above  my  capacity.  Those  that  an  dcelarative  of  the 
common  law,  serve  us  rather  as  evidences,  than  by  any  binding  quality  as 
statutes. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  meet  obedient  servant,  Sic. 

"JOfTN  RANDOLPH." 


T 


APPENDIX. 


377 


court  at  Nftw-York,  and  the  other  on  the  circuits.  The  for- 
mer seals  all  their  process  and  is  keeper  of  the  records.  (- v 

THE  COURT  OP  ADMIRALTY. 

"^'The  oiily  officers  of  this  court  are  the  judge,  or  cominia-- 
sary,  the  register  and  marshal.  The  present  judge,  Lewis 
Morris,  esq.  has,  by  his  commissioii,*  a  jurisdiction  in  all 
maritime  afTairs,  not  only  here,  but  in  the  colonies  of  New- 
Jersey  and  Connecticut.  The  proceedings  before  him  arc  in 
En^ish,  and  according  to  the  course  of  the  civil  law.      ^ 


,♦>**>»  f .^^ V-        THE  PREROGATIVE  COURT. 

The  business  of  this  court  relates  to  the  probate  of  last 
wills  and  testaments,  and  the  grants  of  letters  of  administra- 
tion on  intestate  estates.  The  powers  relative  to  these 
matters  are  committed  to  the  governor,  who  acts  ordinarily 
by  a  delegate. '.  r      -   ,.       :    ^ 


j»  «. 


THE  COURT  OP  T'lE  GOVERNOR  AND  COUNCIL. 


The  authority  of  this  court  is  best  seen  in  the  instruction 
on  which  it  depends,    t  r-j^^?  :'"  Ht^  r^    .  r  >  r-.^  v 

"  Our  wiU  and  pleasuri^  is,  that  you,  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  our  said  province,  for  the  time  being,  do  all  in  civil 
causes,  oii  application  being  made  to  you,  or  the  commander- 
in-chief  for  the  time  being,  for  that  purpose,  permit  and  allow 
a{^als,  from  any  of  the  courts  of  common  law  in  our  said 
province,  unto  you  or  the  commander-in-chief,  and  the  coun- 
cil of  our  said  province ;  and  you  are,  for  that  purpose,  to  issue 
a  writ,  in  the  manner  which  has  been  usually  accustomed, 
returnable  before  yourself  and  the  council  of  our  said  pro- 
vince, who  are  to  proceed  to  hear  and  determine  such  appeal ; 
wherein  such  of  our  said  council,  as  shall  be  at  that  time 
judges  of  the  court  from  whence  such  appeal  shall  be  so 
made,  to  you  our  captain-general,  or  to  the  commander-in- 
chief  for  the  time  being,  and  to  our  said  council,  as  aforesaid, 

*  It  is  under  tlie  seal  of  the  admiralty,  and  dated  January  16, 1738. 

VOL.  I. — 48 


\M 


378 


APPENDIX. 


shall  not  be  admitted  to  vote  upon  the  said  appeal;  but  they 
may,  nevertheless,  be  present  at  the  hearing  thereof,  to  give 
the  reasons  of  the  judgment  given  by  them,  in  the  causes 
wherein  such  appeals  shall  be  made. 

*'  Provided  nevertheless,  that  in  all  such  appeals,  the  sum 
or  value  appealed  for,  to  exceed  the  sum  of*  three  hundred 
pounds  sterling ;  and  that  security  be  first  duly  given  by  the 
appellant,  to  answer  such  charges  as  shall  be  awarded,  in 
case  the  first  sentence  be  affirmed ;  and  if  either  party  shall 
not  rest  satisfied  with  the  judgment  of  you,  or  the  com- 
mander-in-chief for  the  time  being,  and  council  as  aforesaid, 
our  will  and  pleasure  is,  that  they  may  then  appeal  unto  us 
in  our  privy  council.  Provided  the  sum  or  value  so  appealed 
for  unto  us,  exceed  five  hundred  pounds  sterling,  and  that 
such  appeal  be  made  within  fourteen  days  after  sentence, 
and  good  security  given  by  the  appellant,  that  he  will  eflfec- 
tually  prosecute  the  same  and  answer  the  condemnation,  and 
also  pay  such  costs  and  damages  as  shall  be  awarded  by  us, 
in  case  the  sentence  of  you,  or  the  commander-in-chief  for 
the  time  being,  and  council  be  aflSrmed.  Provided  neverthe- 
>  less,  where  the  matter  in  question  relates  to  the  taking  or 
demanding  any  duty  payable  to  us,  or  to  any  fee  of  office,  or 
annual  rent,  or  other  such  like  matter  or  thing,  where  the 
rights  in  future  may  bo  bound,  in  all  such  cases,  you  are  to 
admit  an  appeal  to  us  in  our  privy  council,  though  the  imme- 
diate sum  or  value  appealed  for  be  of  a  less  value.  And  it 
is  our  further  will  and  pleasure,  that  in  all  cases  where,  by 
your  instructions,  you  are  to  admit  appeals  to  us  in  our  privy 
council,  execution  be  suspended,  until  the  final  determina- 
tion of  such  appeals,  imless  good  and  sufficient  security  be 

*  Before  the  arrival  of  sir  Donvers  Osbom,  appeals  were  givonto  tlie  goTer> 
nor  and  councilt  in  all  causes  above  £100  sterling,  and  to  the  king  in  council,  in 
all  those  above  £300  sterling.  By  this  instruction,  the  power  of  the  supreme 
court  and  of  the  governor  and  council,  is  prodigiously  ougmented.  In  this  infant 
country  few  contracts  are  equal  to  the  sums  mentioned  in  the  instruction,  and 
therefore  an  uncontrollable  authority  in  our  courts  may  be  dangerous  to  the 
property  and  liberties  of  the  people.  Proper  checks  upon  judges  preserve  them 
both  from  indolence  and  corruption. 


affendix. 


379 


given  by  the  appellee,  to  make  ample  restitution  of  all  that 
the  appellant  shall  have  lost  by  means  of  such  judgment  or 
decree,  in  case  upon  the  determination  of  such  appeal,  such 
decree  or  judgment  should  be  reversed,  and  restitution 
awarded  to  the  appellant."  ' .  '  * 


7^1 


be 

over- 
!il,  in 
reme 
tfant 
and 
the 
^hem 


THE  COURT  OP -CHANCERY. 

Of  all  our  courts,  none  has  been  more  obnoxious  to  the 
people  than  this.  There  have  been  (as  I  have  already 
shown)  few  administrations  since  its  first  erection,  in  which 
our  assemblies  have  not  expressed  their  disapprobation  of  its 
constitution  by  ordinance,  and  the  exercise  of  the  chancellor's 
power  by  the  governor.  During  the  administration  of 
Governor  Cosby,  a  bill  was  filed  by  sir  Joseph  Eyles  and 
others,  to  vacate  the  oblong  patent  granted  by  his  immediate 
predecessor  to  Hauley  &  Company.  The  defendants  except- 
ed to  the  governor's  jurisdiction,  but  being  over-ruled  they 
resorted  to  the  assembly  with  a  complaint,  and  the  house, 
on  the  6th  of  November,  1735,  resolved, 

"  That  a  court  of  chancery  in  this  province,  in  the  hands 
or  under  the  exercise  of  a  governor,  without  consent  in 
general  assembly,  is  contrary  to  law,  unwarrantable,  and  of 
dangerous  consequences  to  the  liberties  and  properties  of  the 
people." 

The  same  sentiments  obtained  among  the  people  in  Mr. 
Clarke's  time,  as  is  very  evident  in  the  memorable  address  of 
the  assembly,  in  1737,  a  part  of  which,  relative  to  the  court 
of  chancery,  is  too  singular  to  be  suppressed. 

"The  settling  and  establishing  of  courts  of  general  jurisdic- 
tion, for  the  due  administration  of  justice  is  necessary  in 
every  country,  and  we  conceive  they  ought  to  be  settled  and 
established,  by  the  acts  of  the  whole  legislature,  and  their 
several  jurisdictions  and  powers  by  that  authority  limited  and 
appointed,  especially  courts  that  are  to  take  cognizance  of 
matters  in  a  course  of  equity.  This  has  been  the  constant 
practice  in  England,  when  new  courts  were  to  be  erected,  or 
old  ones  to  be  abolished  or  altered  ;  and  the  several  king's  of 


l\ 


360 


ArrkKpix, 


'I    f 


England,  in  whose  reign^  those  acts  were  made,  never  con- 
ceived, that  the  settling,  erecting,  or  abolishing  courts,  by 
acts  of  the  legislature,  had  any  tendency  to  destroy  or  in  the 
least  to  diminish  their  just  and  legal  prerogatives.  It  watj 
the  method  in  use  here,  both  before  and  since  the  revolution, 
and  particularly  recommended  to  the  assembly  to  be  done  in 
that  manner,  by  a  message  from  governor  Sloughter  and 
coimcil,  on  the  16th  day  of  April,  1691.  He  was  the  first 
governor  since  the  revolution ;  and  the  governors  that  sinf  e 
that  time  assented  to  those  acts,  we  suppose,  never  in  the 
least  imagined  they  were  giving  up  the  prerogative  of  their 
masters  when  they  gave  that  assent ;  nor  did  we  ever  learn 
that  they  were  censured  for  doing  so. — On  the  contrary,  the 
constant  instructions  that  have  from  time  to  time  been  given 
to  the  governors  of  this  province,  seem  clearly  to  point  out 
the  doing  of  it  by  acts  of  the  legislature,  and  not  otherwise, 
as  may  be  gathered  from  the  instruction  for  the  erecting  of 
a  court  for  the  determining  of  small  causes,  by  which  there 
are  positive  directions  given  to  the  governors,  to  recommend 
it  vo  the  asseinbly  that  a  law  should  be  passed  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  but  notwithstanding  these  directions,  given  in  direct 
and  express  terras,  the  governors  never  would  apply  for  such 
an  act,  but  erected  that  court  by  an  ordinance  of  themselves 
and  council,  as  they  did  the  court  of  chancery,  which  had 
before  that  time  been  erected  by  acts  of  the  legislature  in 
another  manner.  They  could  not  be  ignorant  what  dissa- 
tisfaction the  erecting  of  a  court  of  chancery  in  that  manner 
gave  the  generality  of  the  people.  This  was  very  manifest 
by  the  resolves  of  the  general  assembly  at  the  time  of  its 
first  being  so  erected,  and  often  since,  declaring  the  illegality 
of  such  a  proceeding.  And  though  these  resolves  have 
been,  as  often  as  made,  treated  by  the  governors  with  an  un- 
reasonable disregard  and  contempt  of  them,  yet  to  men  of 
prudence  they  might  have  been  effectual,  to  have  made 
them  decline  persisting  in  a  procedure  so  illegal,  and  so 
generally  dissatisfactory  ;  and  which  (as  they  managed  it) 
proved  of  no  use  to  the  public  or  benefit  to  themsfclve!?.     For 


APPENDIX. 


dHl 


//J 


lity 

avc 

un- 

of 

ide 

so 

it) 

•"or 


as  few  of  (hem  had  talents  equal  to  the  task  of  a  chancellor, 
which  they  had  undertaken  to  perform,  so  it  was  executed 
accordingly.  Some  of  them  being  willing  to  hold  such  a 
court,  others  not,  accordingly  as  they  happened  to  be  influ- 
enced by  those  about  them.  So  that  were  it  really  esta- 
blished in  the  most  legal  manner,  (as  it  was  not,)  yet  being  in 
the  hands  of  a  person  not  compellable  to  do  his  duty,  it  was 
80  managed,  that  the  extraordinary  delays  and  fruitless 
expense  attending  it,  rendered  it  not  only  useless,  but  a 
grievance  to  the  inhabitants,  especially  those  who  were  so 
unfortunate  as  to  be  concerned  in  it :  which  we  hope  you 
think  with  us,  that  it  is  high  time  should  be  redressed. 

"  Your  honour  well  knows  that  the  establishing  that  court, 
in  the  manner  it  has  been  done,  has  been  a  subject  of  con- 
tention between  the  governors  and  the  assembly  ;  and  since 
h  is  confessed  by  all,  that  the  establishing  both  of  that, 
and  other  courts,  by  act  of  the  legislature,  is  indisputably 
legal,  and  gives  them  the  most  incontrovertible  authority ; 
and,  if  unquestionably  legal,  what  is  so  cannot  be  destruc- 
tive of  his  majesty's  prerogative.  We  therefore  hope,  you 
will  make  no  scruple  of  assenting  to  this  bill,  to  put  an  end 
to  the  contention,  that  has  not  been,  nor  will  be,  while  it 
continues,  beneficial  to  his  majesty's  service." 

From  this  time  the  chancery  has  been  unattacked  by  the 
assembly,  but  the  business  transacted  in  it  is  very  inconsi- 
derable. A  court  of  equity  is  absolutely  necessary,  for  tho 
due  administration  of  justice  ;  but  whether  private  property 
ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  governors,  I  leave  others  to 
determine.*  As  the  public  business  of  the  colony  increases, 
few  of  them,  I  believe,  will  be  ambitious  of  the  chancellor's 
office,  as  they  have  not  the  assistance  of  a  master  of  the 
rolls.  The  present  officers  of  this  court  (which  is  always 
held  in  the  council-chamber  at  the  fort)  are,  his  excellency, 
sir  Charles  Hardy,  knt.  chancellor,  two  masters,  two  clerks, 
one  examiner,  a  register,  and  a  sergeant-at-arms,  and  not 

*  Some  are  of  opinion,  that  the  goveinor's  juriBdiction  in  thia  and  th«  spirl* 
taal,  or  prero^tive  court,  are  incompatible. 


//il 


^\ll 


'i 


382 


ArrKNDix. 


one  of  them  hM  a  salary.   In  our  proceedings  we  copy  after 
rhe  chancery  in  England,  and  indeed  in  all  our  courte,  the 
|yac(i«e  at  home  is  more  nearly  imitated  in  this  and  New- 
Jer8<^> ,  th«n  in  any  other  province  upon  the  continent.  Few   ^^ 
of  our  aBseintilies  have  been  capable  to  <  oncert  any  new  regu- 
lations of  this  kind;    and  hence  the  lawyers  have  had 
recourse  to  the  English  customs  and  forms,  which  they  have 
generv^v    adopted.      While   the   New-England   colonies,  • 
through  the  superior  education  of  their  representatives, 
have  introduced  numberless  innovations  peculiar  to  them 
selves,   the  laws  of  our  mother  country  have  gradui<«i>' 
obtained  here,  and  in  this  respect,  the  public  has  ^  <,  hajw 
received    advantages,  even   from    the    ignora*^ce  of   <'Ui  - 
ancestors.  .   'j  * 


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NOTES. 


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A- 


NOTES. 


Note  A. — Page  2. 

CiiAKLEvoix,  a  French  Jesuit,  author  of  the  General  History  of  New  France, 
thinks  tlio  discovery  of  New- York  and  Hudson's  river  was  in  1609;  but  Stitli, 
Douglass,  Oldmixon,  and  other  English  writers  agree,  that  Hudson's  first  voyago 
was  in  the  preceding  year.  It  was  thought  to  be  a  demonstration  of  a  discovery 
of  the  country  before  this  period,  that  the  marks  of  a  hatchet  were  found  on  the 
body  of  a  tree  in  the  spring  of  1775,  which  had  been  made  in  1590.  The 
block  was  brought  to  town  and  shown  to  the  author.  But  the  discoverer  abused 
the  value  ho  had  set  upon  tliis  curiosity,  to  whom  I  observed,  tliat  the  Indians, 
upon  tlie  authority  of  Stith's  history,  might  have  got  the  instrument  from  Canada, 
where  Targues  Carteu,  accordmg  to  Do  Lact,  the  discoverer,  had  watered  in 
1536,  at  St.  Croix,  a  little  above  Quebec,  and  afterwards  revisited  the  St.  Law- 
rence in  1540  with  five  ships,  and  continued  the  crew  at  Chaslcbourg,  above 
St.  Croix,  to  1542,  or  from  the  English  who  came  first  to  VVococon,  or  Ocacock, 
to  the  southward  of  Cape  Hatteras,  on  the  second  of  July,  1582,  and  a  few  days 
after  entered  Albemarle  Sound.  That  they  returned  to  it  under  Sir  Richanl 
Grenville  on  the  2Gth  May,  1585,  who,  on  his  return  that  summer  to  England,  left 
about  one  hundred  persons  at  Roanoke,  who  expanded  themselves  southward 
and  nortliward,  and  had  dealings  with  the  Indians  above  one  hundred  and  tliirty 
miles  northwest  into  tlieir  country.  That  Sir  Francis  Drake  visited  the  new 
colony  in  1586,  after  burning  St.  Antony  Urlena,  in  Florida,  where  lie  found  the 
Spaniards  had  commenced  settlements.  That  Sir  Richard  Grenville  revisited 
tliat  country  the  same  year,  andCapt.  White  with  his  company  the  next;  and 
that  in  1588  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  had  then  expended  forty  tliousand  pounds 
upon  the  enterprise  for  planting  a  colony  under  the  name  of  Virginia. — 
Sir  Thomas  Smith's  company,  after  Raleigh's  assignment,  arrived  August  tlie  3d, 
1590,  the  year  designated  on  the  block.  Mr.  Robert  Yates,  the  surveyor, 
who  brought  it  to  town,  gave  mo  the  following  certificate  of  the  discovery  in  a 
letter  dated  May  the  3d,  1775 : 

"  Sir :  In  the  course  of  the  survey  of  the  patent  granted  ui  the  year  1672,  to 
Van  Hendrichy  Van  Baale,  in  the  county  of  Albany,  as  claimed  by  the  proprie- 
t«ra  thereof,  tho  surveyors  wore  particularly  directed  by  the  arbitrators  appointed 
for  the  determination  of  its  contested  boundaries  to  bore  the  marked  trees 
standing  on  and  at  some  distance  from  tlic  lines.     In  consequence  of  it  a  num- 

VOL.  I.— 49 


4 


386 


NOTKfi. 


1 


1 


< 


berof  trees  were  bored ;  several  wlicreof  appeared  to  be  cut  or  marked,  wliosr 
respeclivo  ages,  upon  ascertaining  the  streaks  grown  over  such  marks,  counted 
from  110  to  140  years.  But  wliat  more  particularly  strikes  my  attention,  and 
to  which  I  can  find  no  satisfactory  solution  is,  that  at  the  distance  of  about  one 
mile  south-west  from  a  hill  called  Kych-Uyt,in  a  pine  wilderness,  remote  from 
any  settlement,  one  of  the  axe-men,  for  tlie  .sake  of  keeping  him  in  employ,  wa» 
ordered,  on  the  seventh  March,  1775,  to  cut  a  pitch  pine  tree  of  about  two  feet 
diameter,  whereon  there  was  httle,  if  any,  appearance  of  a  mark — about  six 
inches  in  the  tree  a  cut  or  mark  was  discovered  and  the  block  taken  out.  In 
splitting  it  with  the  grain  it  opened  to  our  view  several  cuts  of  an  axe  or  other 
sharp  iron  tool,  the  dents  whereof  appeared  as  fresh  and  new  as  if  the  mark 
had  been  made  within  a  year.  In  counting  of  the  rings  or  streaks  grown  over 
these  marks,  it  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  eighty-five,  so  that  the  cut  was 
made  in  the  year  1590,  at  least  17  years  befoie  Hudson's  discovery  of  tliis  coun- 
try. It  is  well  known  that  the  natives  had  no  iron  tools  before  their  acquaintance 
and  mtercourse  with  the  Europeans,  and  it  is  this  circumstance  that  involves 
me  in  the  difficulty  of  accounting  for  its  mark  at  that  early  period.  Proof  of  the 
number  of  streaks  grown  over  marks  has  often  in  our  courts  been  allowed  to 
ascertain  its  age.  I  have,  tliereforc,  been  at  some  pains  to  discover  its  certainty, 
and  can,  from  my  own  experience,  declare  that  it  amounts  *"  demonstration.— 
Among  the  variety  of  instances,  the  two  following  are  tlie  imo-  *  emarkable : — In 
the  year  1762, 1  was  present  when  a  number  of  trees  wore  nvdii:ed  on  the  survey 
of  the  township  of  Kinderhook.  In  the  year  1773, 1  re-i^'urveyed  these  lines,  and 
ordered  several  of  those  marks  to  be  opened,  and  thereupon  found  that  all  those 
trees,  though  of  different  kinds,  invariably  counted  ten  streaks  above  the  marks. 
1  have,  also,  been  employed  in  the  year  1768  to  re-survey  the  bounds  of  a  patent, 
wliich  appeared  by  the  deputy  surveyor's  return  to  have  been  originally  laid 
out  for  the  patentee  in  the  year  1738 :  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  the  certainty  of 
the  trees  which  were  shewn  me  as  marked  on  his  survey,  I  bored  a  beach  tree, 
whereon  the  initial  letters  of  his  name  appeared  standing  in  the  comer  of  one  of 
the  sides,  and  found  that  the  streaks  above  it  counted  exactly  thirty. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant. 
New- York,  May  3, 1775.  ROBERT  YATES. 

On  inspecting  the  block,  I  observed  that  the  rings  of  growth  differed  in  their 
distance  from  each  other,  probably  according  to  the  variety  of  the  years  as  more 
or  less  favorable.  But  if  the  age  of  the  tree  is  to  be  computed  by  the  fourth  part 
of  its  diameter  acquired  in  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  years,  and  was  conse- 
quently for  twenty-four  inches  over  seven  hundred  and  forty  years  old,  how 
venerable  our  forests  of  pine  in  wliich  there  arc  many  trees  of  from  three  to 
four  fept  in  diameter,  which  must  then  be  from  one  thousand  to  near  fifteen 
hundred  years  old ;  and  how  many  more  they  continue  at  a  stand  and  on  tlia 
decline  before  they  fall,  none  can  presmne.  The  land  moEt  abounding  witli 
pine  is  light,  dry  and  sandy,  and  where  the  trunks  have  rotted  away  they  havo 
knots  which  no  weather  seems  to  affect ;  yet  in  the  repletion  of  the  interstices 
with  rosin  or  gin  imctuous  substance  that  is  very  influnable,  and  which  the 
country  people  collect  and  use  for  lights  to  work  by  in  long  winter  evenings.— 
These  are  found  where  there  is  not  the  least  appearance  of  a  hillock  for  the 
trank  to  which  they  originally  belonged,  «nd  this  leads  to  as  remcte  antiquity  for 


•   > 


>01KS. 


as? 


thoir  first  formation  as  for  rocks  and  other  permanuut  tmbstaiiccs.  tliny  sayii, 
"  Vita  arborum  quterundarum  imniensa  credi  potest,"  but  he  mentions  no  species 
of  trees  with  certainty  of  an  ago  equal  to  what  wo  conjecture  of  the  American 
firs  commonly  called  pitch  pine.  There  is  a  white  pine  tree  on  tlie  banks  ol 
Batton  creek,  in  the  township  of  Cambridge,  in  this  province,  of  the  diameter  of 
seven  feet.     No  fir  as  yet  discovered  exceeds  four. 

Note  B. — Page  3. 

The  pamphlet  is  entitled,  "Boschryvinghevan  Virginia,  Neiuw  Nederland," 
&c.  and  was  printed  at  Amsterdam  in  1651.  It  contains  two  descriptions  of  tho 
Dutch  possessions.  The  first  is  a  copy  of  that  published  by  John  Do  Laot,  at 
Leyden.  The  second  gives  a  view  of  this  country  several  years  ailer,  in  1G41>. 
A  short  representation  of  the  country  of  the  Mahakuase  Indians,  written  in 
1644,  by  John  Megapolensis,  jun.  a  Dutch  minister  residing  hero,  is  annexed  to 
that  part  of  the  pamphlet  conceniing  New-Netheiland.  . 

Note  C. — Puge  5. 

The  anonymous  Dutch  author  of  the  description  of  New-Netherland  in 
1649,  calls  him  Minnewits ;  and  adds,  that  in  1638  he  arrived  at  Delaware  with 
two  vessels,  pretendhig  that  ho  touched  for  refreshment  in  his  way  to  the  West- 
Indies;  but  that  he  soon  threw  of  the  disguise,  by  employing  his  men  in  erect- 
ing a  fort.  Ti)e  same  historian  informs  us  of  the  murder  of  ssveral  Dutch  men 
at  South  River,  by  tho  Indians,  occasioned  by  a  quarrel,  concerning  the  taking 
away  the  States'  Arms,  which  the  former  had  erected  at  the  first  discovery  of  the 
country  ;  in  resenting  which,  an  Indian  had  been  killed.  If  Kiefl''6  letter  alludes 
to  this  affair,  then  Minuit  preceded  Van  T  wilier,  in  the  chief  command  here; 
and  being  perhaps  disobliged  by  the  Dutch,  entered  into  the  service  of  the  queen 
ofSweden. 

Note  D. — Page  7. 

The  war  between  Cromwell  and  the  States,  which  began  July,  1652,  was  con- 
cluded by  a  peace  on  the  fifth  of  April,  1654.  The  treaty  ma''  -3  no  particular 
mention  of  this  country.  If  any  part  of  it  can  be  considered  as  relating  to  thoi 
American  possessions,  it  is  to  bo  found  in  the  two  first  articles,  which  arc  in 
these  words :  "  Imprimis,  it  is  agreed  and  concluded,  that,  from  this  day  for- 
wards, there  be  a  true,  firm,  and  inviolable  peace,  a  sincere,  intimate  and  close 
friendship,  affinity,  confederacy,  and  union,  betwir.t  tho  republic  of  England 
and  tlie  States  General  of  the  United  Provinces  of  the  Netherlands,  and  tlioland, 
countries,  cities,  and  towns,  under  the  dominions  of  each,  wiUiout  distinction  of 
places,  together  with  their  people  and  inhabitants  of  whatsoever  degree." 

II.  "That  hereafter  all  enmity,  hostility,  discord,  and  contention,  betwixt 
the  said  republics,  and  their  people  and  subjects,  shall  cease,  and  both  parties 
shall  henccforwards  abstain  from  the  committing  all  manner  of  mischief, 
plunder,  and  injuries,  by  land,  by  sea,  and  on  the  fresh  waters,  in  all  their  lands 
countries,  dominions,  places,  and  governments  whatsoever." 

Note  E. — Page  26. 

ft  was  in  these  words :  "  Forasmuch  as  his  majesty  hath  sent  us  (by  com- 
mission under  his  great  seal  of  Eixgland,)  amongst  other  things,  to  expel,  or  l'> 


;  1 


386 


iVOTFS. 


( ,l' 


'  n 


reduce  to  liia  majesty'd  obodionce,  all  such  foreigners  as  without  liis  majesty's 
leave  and  consent,  have  seated  themselves  amongst  any  of  his  dominions  in 
America,  to  the  prejudice  of  his  majesty's  subjects  and  diminution  of  his  royal 
dignity,  wo,  his  said  majesty's  commissioners,^  do  declare  and  promise,  that 
whosoever,  of  what  nation  soever,  will,  upon  knowledge  of  this  proclamation, 
acknowledge  and  testify  themselves,  to  submit  to  this  his  majesty's  government, 
as  his  good  subjects,  shall  be  protected  in  his  majesty's  laws  and  justice,  and 
peaceably  enjoy  whatsoever  God's  blessing  and  their  own  honest  industry  have 
furnished  them  with ;  and  all  other  privileges  with  his  majesty's  Englisli  subjects. 
Wo  have  caused  this  to  be  published,  that  we  might  prevent  all  inconveniences 
to  others,  if  it  were  possible ;  however,  to  clear  ourselves  from  the  charge  of  all 
tliose  miseries  that  may  any  way  befal  such  as  live  here,  and  will  acknowledge 
Ills  majesty  for  their  sovereign,  whem  God  preserve." 

Note  F. — Page  47. 

Tiie  Court  of  AesI/.cs  was  one  both  of  law  and  equity,  for  the  trial  of  causes 
of  jC20,and  upwards,  and  ordinarily  sat  but  once  a  year ;  subordinate  to  this  were 
tlic  town  courts  and  sessions ;  tlic  former  took  cognizance  of  actions  under  £5, 
and  the  latter  of  suits  between  that  sum  and  twenty  pounds:  seven  constables  and 
overseers  were  judges  in  the  first,  and  in  the  last  the  justices  of  the  peace,  with 
a  jury  of  seven  men.    The  verdict  of  the  majority  was  sufficient. 

Note  G.—Page  49. 
Another  reason  is  assigned  for  the  favour  Renslaer  met  with  from  the  crown« 
It  is  said,  that  while  Cliarles  II.  was  an  exile,  ho  predicted  the  day  of  his  restora- 
tion: The  people  of  Albany  had  a  higli  opinion  of  his  prophetic  spirit,  and 
many  strange  tales  about  him  still  prevail  there.  The  parson  made  nothing 
of  his  claun,  the  manor  being  ailerwards  granted  by  Colonel  Dongan  to  KilUan 
Van  Renslaer,  a  distant  relation.  This  extensive  tract,  by  the  Dutch  called  a 
colony,  is  an  oblong  extending  twenty-four  miles  upon  Hudson's  river,  and  as 
many  on  each  side.  The  patent  of  confirmation  was  issued  by  special  direction 
from  the  kuig,  and  is  the  most  liberal  in  the  privileges  it  grants  of  any  one  in 
the  province. 

Note  H.— Page  63. 

The  amazing  falsehoods  and  gross  misrepresentations  of  the  missionaries 
are  notorious  to  all  who  give  themselves  the  trouble  of  perusing  tlie  abstracts 
of  their  accounts  pubUshed  in  England.  It  would  be  a  very  agreeable  office 
to  me,  on  this  occasion,  to  distinguish  tJie  innocent  from  tlio  guilty,  but  that 
such  a  task  would  infallibly  raise-  up  a  host  of  enemies.  Many  of  the  mis- 
sionaries are  men  of  learning  and  exemplary  morals.  Those  in  America  arc 
known  and  honoured,  and  cannot  bo  prejudiced  by  an  indiscriminate  censure. 
Their  joining  in  a  representation  for  distinguishing  the  delinquents,  who  are  a 
disgrace  to  the  cloth,  will  serve  as  a  full  vindication  of  themselves  to  the  society. 
Mr.  Ogilive  is,  I  believe,  the  only  person  now  employed  among  the  Indians  by 
the  English  Society  for  Propagating  tlie  Gospel,  and  the  greatest  part  oven  of  his 
charge  is  in  the  city  of  Albany.  All  the  Scotch  missionaries  are  among  the 
heatlien,  and  their  success  has  been  sufficient  to  encourage  any  future  attempts. 
There  is  a  retrular  socif  tv  of  Indian  ronverte  in  New-Jorpev :  and  it  is  worlliv  of 


N01'£!4. 


j»y 


n) 


remark,  tiiat  not  one  of  them  has  apostatized  into  heathenism.  Some  of  them 
have  made  such  proficiencies  in  practical  roUgion,  as  ought  to  nliamo  many  of 
us,  who  boast  the  iHuminating  age  of  our  native  Christianity.  Not  one  of  tliesn 
Indians  has  been  concerned  in  those  barbarous  irruptions,  wliich  have  lately 
deluged  the  frontiers  of  the  south-western  provuiccs,  with  the  blood  of  several 
hundred  innocents  of  every  age  and  sex.  At  the  commoncomont  of  tlicse 
ravages,  they  flew  into  the  settlements,  and  put  tiiomsolves  under  the  protection 
of  the  government.  These  Indians  no  sooner  became  christians,  than  they 
openly  professed  their  loyalty  to  king  George ;  and,  therefore,  to  contribute  to 
their  conversion  was  as  truly  politic  as  nobly  christian.  Those  colonies  wliich 
have  done  most  for  this  charitable  design,  have  escaped  be»l  from  the  late  dis- 
tressuig  calamities.  Of  all  the  missionaries,  Mr.  David  Brainord,  who  recovered 
these  Indians  from  the  darkness  of  Paganism,  was  most  succcRsful.  Ho  died 
the  9th  of  October,  1747,  a  victim  to  his  extreme  mortification  and  inoxtinguisli- 
able  zeal  for  the  prospertiy  of  his  mission.  Those  who  are  curious  to  inquire 
particularly  into  the  effects  of  his  indefatigable  industry,  may  have  recourse 
to  his  journal,  published  at  Philadelphia,  by  the  American  correspondents  of 
tlie  Scotch  society,  in  whose  service  he  was  employed.  Dr.  Douglass,  ever 
ready  to  do  honour  to  his  native  country,  oiler  remarking  that  this  self-denying 
clergyman  rode  about  4000  miles  in  the  year  1744,  with  an  air  of  approbation, 
asks,  "  Is  there  any  missionary  from  any  of  the  societies  for  propagating  tlie 
gospel  in  foreign  parts,  that  has  reported  the  like  ?" 

Note  I. — Page  93. 

The  following  was  the  declaration  of  Leisler,  signed  the  3d  of  June,  1680  : — 
"  Whereas  our  intention  tended  only  but  to  the  preservation  of  the  protestant 
religion,  and  the  fort  of  this  city,  to  the  end  that  wo  may  avoid  and  prevent  the 
rash  judgment  of  the  world,  in  so  just  a  design,  wee  have  thought  filt  to  let  every 
body  know  by  these  public  proclamation,  that  till  the  safe  arryvell  of  the  ships, 
that  wco  expuct  every  day,  from  his  royal  highness  the  prince  of  Orange,  with 
orders  for  the  government  of  this  country  in  the  behalf  of  such  person  as  the  said 
royal  lyghncss  had  chosen,  and  honoured  with  the  charge  of  a  governor,  Uiat  as 
soon  as  the  bearer  of  the  said  orders  shall  have  let  us  see  his  power,  then,  and 
without  any  delay,  wp  shall  execute  the  said  orders  punctually;  declaring  that  we 
do  intend  to  submit  and  obey,  not  only  the  said  orders,  but  also  the  bearer 
thereof,  committed  for  the  execution  of  tlie  same.  In  witness  hereof,  we  have 
sgined  these  presents,  the  3d  of  Juno,  1689." 

Note  K.—Page  16T. 

The  preamble  of  the  act,  suggested  without  doubt  by  the  parties  inlercslcii 
in  its  success,  gives  a  history  which  no  person  in  England  was  concerned  to  con- 
tradict. Mrs.  Farmer,  a  descendant  from  Leisler,  sent  mo  a  copy  of  the  statute 
in  July,  1759.  It  may  serve  to  show  the  propriety  of  calling  for  a  report  oi' 
facts  which  have  happened  at  a  distance,  before  final  resolutions  are  taken  upon 
them. 

"  An  Act  for  reversing  the  Attainder  of  Jacob  Leisler  and  others. — Whereak, 
in  the  late  happy  revolution,  the  inhabitants  of  the  province  of  New- York,  in 
AmorJca,  did,  in  their  general  assembly,  constitute  and  appoint  captain  Jamb 


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Loislor  to  bo  commandor-in-cliiof  of  the  said  province,  until  their  maje«liei' 
pleaaure  should  be  known  therein.  And  the  Baid  Jacob  Leisler  wm  afterwards 
confirmed  in  the  said  command  by  his  majesty's  letter,  dated  tlie  thirtieth  day  of 
July,  one  tiiousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-nine ;  and  the  said  Jacob  Ijeisler 
having  the  administration  of  the  said  government  of  New-York,  by  virtue  of 
the  said  power  and  authority  so  given  and  confirmed  to  him  as  aforesaid,  and 
being  in  the  exercise  thereof,  captain  Richard  Ingoldsby  arriving  in  the  said 
province,  in  the  month  of  January,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  ninety,  did,  without  producing  any  legal  authority,  demand  of  the  said 
Jacob  Leisler  the  possession  of  the  fort  at  New-York ;  but  the  said  Jacob  Leisler, 
pursuant  to  tlie  trust  in  him  reposed,  refusing  to  surrender  the  said  for^  into  the 
hands  of  the  said  Richard  Ingoldsby,  kept  the  possession  thereof  until  the  month 
of  March  then  next  followmg,  at  which  time  colonel  Henry  Sloughter  being 
constituted  captain-general  and  governor-in-ciiiof  of  the  province,  arrived  there 
in  the  evening,  and  the  said  Jacob  Leisler  having  notice  thereof,  that  same  night 
(though  very  late)  took  care  to  deliver  tliosaid  fort  to  his  order,  which  was  done 
very  early  the  next  morning. 

"And  whereas  the  said  Jacob  Leisler,  also  Jacob  Milborne,  Abraham  Govorncur, 
and  several  others,  were  arraigned  in  the  Supremo  Court  of  Judicature  at  New- 
York  aforesaid,  and  convicted  and  attainted  of  high  treascii  and  felony,  for  not 
'  delivering  the  possession  of  the  said  fort  to  ^e  said  Richard  Ingoldsby,  and  the 
said  Jacob  Leisler  and  Jacob  Milborne  were  executed  for  the  same.  May  it 
therefore  please  your  most  excellent  majesty,  at  the  humble  petition,and  request 
of  Jacob  Leisler,  the  son  and  heir  of  the  said  Jacob  Leisler,  deceased,  Jacob 
Milborne,  the  son  and  heir  of  the  said  Jacob  Milborne,  deceased,  and  of  the  said 
Jacob  Governeur,  that  it  be  declared  and  enacted, 

"^ndbe  it  enacted,  by  the  king's  most  excellent  majesty,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  commons  in  tliis 
present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  the  said 
several  convictions,  judgments  and  attainders  of  the  said  Jacob  Leisler,  deceased, 
Jacob  Milborne,  deceased,  and  the  said  Abraham  Governeur,  and  every  of  tliem, 
be  and  are  repealed,  reversed,  made  and  declared  null  and  void  to  all  ibtents, 
constructions,  and  purposes  whatsoever,  as  if  no  such  convictions,  judgments, 
or  attainders,  had  ever  been  had  or  given ;  and  that  no  corruption  of  blood, 
or  other  penalties,  or  forfeitures  of  goods,  chattels,  lands,  tenements,  heredita- 
ments, be  by  tlie  said  convictions  and  attainders,  or  either  of  thom,  incurred,  any 
said  usage  or  custom  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 


END  OP  VOL.  I. 


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